Appeal of Fiduciary Rule Filed

Life insurers and business groups have filed an appeal seeking to overturn a ruling by a Texas federal judge that upheld the U.S. Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule. Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, earlier this month rejected claims the rule was regulatory overreach and awarded summary judgment to the DOL. Federal judges in Kansas and Washington D.C. have also ruled in favor of the DOL. Plaintiffs include the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), the Insured Retirement Institute and the Financial Services Institute.

The rule, issued in April 2016, would change how retirement advisers conduct business, while ensuring transactions are in the client’s best interest. The fiduciary rule has an initial deadline of April 10. The Trump administration is working on a rule to delay and possibly repeal the mandates before they take effect.