Isakson, Alexander Applaud Court Decision to Preserve Affordable Retirement Planning for Hardworking Americans

Congressional Documents & Publications

Friday, March 16, 2018

Contact: Isakson, Amanda Maddox, 202-224-7777 Alexander, Taylor Haulsee, 770-661-0999

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals strikes down misguided 'fiduciary rule'

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., praised a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit striking down the Obama-era "fiduciary rule" issued by the U.S. Department of Labor as "unreasonable."

Isakson and Alexander said the court's ruling on Thursday is a victory for hardworking Americans who need access to affordable retirement planning advice.

Isakson, Alexander, other members of Congress and industry leaders have argued that the June 2017 rule represented a bureaucratic overreach and hindered access to retirement planning for middle-income American families.

"I'm thankful that the court has recognized that the 'fiduciary rule' represents a massive bureaucratic overreach and is a solution in search of a problem," said Isakson, chairman of the Senate labor subcommittee. "I'm committed to the repeal of this big-government regulation that harms hardworking Americans who need access to quality advice for their retirement planning."

"The appeals court ruling to vacate the Obama-era so-called 'fiduciary rule' is good news for Tennessee families hoping to make the most of their hard-earned income in retirement," said Alexander, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. "The rule threatened low and middle-income Tennesseans' access to affordable retirement advice and could have forced them to work longer and retire with less."

Within the fine print of hundreds of pages of U.S. Department of Labor regulations known as the "fiduciary rule," the Obama administration's labor department sought to redefine the word "fiduciary" in a way that has resulted in increases in required minimum balances in retirement accounts and the loss of access to investment advice for thousands of Americans.

Isakson's previously introduced legislation, the Affordable Retirement Advice Protection Act, S.1321, cosponsored by Alexander, seeking to overturn the "fiduciary rule" to preserve access to quality financial planning and ensure that retirement advisors serve the best interests of low- and middle-income Americans. It also sought to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to raise investment advice standards for the retirement industry and strengthen protections for those saving for retirement.

Isakson and Alexander have fought relentlessly against the fiduciary rule since it was first announced by the Obama administration, including with multiple legislative attempts to overturn the rule and a letter to Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta asking for an exhaustive review of the final fiduciary rule before it went into effect.

Isakson Introduces Legislation to Protect Hardworking Families' Retirement Savings https://www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2016/2/isakson-introduces-legislation-to-protect-hardworking-families-retirement-savings

Wall Street Journal Letter to the Editor: Labor Should Delay Fiduciary Rule Kickoff https://www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2017/6/wall-street-journal-letter-to-the-editor

Isakson Blasts Labor Rule that Denies Millions of Americans the Chance to Plan for Retirement https://www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2016/4/isakson-blasts-labor-rule-that-denies-millions-of-americans-the-chance-to-plan-for-retirement

Isakson, Alexander Call Obama's Fiduciary Rule Decision Another Big Government Mistake https://www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2016/6/isakson-alexander-call-obama-s-fiduciary-rule-decision-another-big-government-mistake

Isakson to Labor Secretary: Proposed Fiduciary Regulation 'A Solution in Search of a Problem' https://www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2015/7/isakson-to-labor-secretary-proposed-fiduciary-regulation-a-solution-in-search-of-a-problem

Marie Hodge Gordon

Press Secretary

OFFICE OF UNITED STATES SENATOR JOHNNY ISAKSON

3625 Cumberland Boulevard

Suite 970

Atlanta, GA 30339

phone: 770.661.0999