US Judge ruled to uphold a retirement advice law, resulting in a loss for US Chamber of Commerce and other financial services groups.
In a news article published by Reuters, it reported that a US federal judge, Barbara Lynn, ruled in favor of upholding a Labor Department law that requires brokers to put clients' interests first when giving them advice about retirement. The decision is a loss for plaintiffs that include the US Chamber of Commerce, the Financial Services Roundtable, as well as the Financial Services Institute.
The National Law Journal writes that these business and financial services groups argue that the rule is burdensome. However, Lynn stated that the Department of Labor has been given broad discretion by congress to protect retirement investors from conflicted transactions by weighing policy concerns.
She added that the department has used its power to regulate a significant stake in the economy as it was assigned to do, contrary to the arguments cited by the plaintiffs. The latter, on the other hand, said in a statement that they will continue to explore other options that will see the rule rescinded.
This ruling does not mean that the current administration cannot seek to modify or repeal the law. They are still able to do so, says The Wagner Law Group's counsel Tom Clark, but it would be harder and challenging.
The rule is a retirement advice law that requires brokers to put the best interests of their clients first whenever the former gives advice concerning retirement accounts of 401(k) retirement plans, writes Reuters.
In other news, women who are thinking about retirement and how to prepare for it can read this article by Jobs & Hire. It details four points on how to have a successful retirement wherein retirees would not have to worry financially.
