The Department of Labor has submitted a proposal to the Office of Management and Budget to delay the January 1 applicability date of its fiduciary rule until July 1, 2019. News of the department’s intention to delay was in a court filing in Minnesota, made in a case brought against the DOL by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.
The filing doesn’t provide details about the delay, but it does say that the full proposal is expected to be published Thursday morning.
The first two prongs of the rule went into effect June 9, one expanding the definition of who is a fiduciary and another establishing impartial-conduct standards. But full compliance with the rule was required by January 1.
At the end of June, the DOL issued a request for information, asking for public feedback on what parts of the fiduciary rule should be revised, if any, and whether the January 1 applicability date should be delayed.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February ordering the DOL to undertake an economic and legal review of the fiduciary rule. That prompted the department to delay the April 10 implementation date to June 9 to complete its analysis.
