On May 22, 2017, Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Alexander Acosta announced in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that the DOL will not issue another delay of the “fiduciary rule,” set to become generally effective on June 9, 2017. Secretary Acosta stated on Monday evening that “[w]e have carefully considered the record in this case…and have found no principled legal basis to change the June 9 date while we seek public input.”

The long-awaited rule, which revised the definition of “fiduciary” for retirement investment advice purposes, had an original applicability date of April 10, 2017. President Donald Trump, by way of presidential memorandum dated February 3, 2017, ordered the DOL to review the fiduciary rule and prepare an updated economic and legal analysis to determine whether the fiduciary rule was likely to harm investors, disrupt the retirement services industry, or cause an increase in litigation. After receiving more than one thousand comments from those who would potentially be affected by the rule, the DOL issued a rule to delay its effective date to June 9, 2017, so it could further evaluate the rule.

In tandem with Secretary Acosta’s announcement, the DOL issued Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) No. 2017-02, which issued a temporary enforcement policy on the fiduciary rule, as well as an 11-page set of FAQs relating to the upcoming June 9 effective date and the transition period from June 9, 2017, to January 1, 2018, when the rest of the rule is set to take effect.