Biden 401(k) Rule Triggers New Look at Employer Provider Risks

Newly proposed rules widening the US Labor Department’s umbrella of strict fiduciary investment advice standards are pressuring employer plan sponsors to reevaluate the kinds of businesses they hire on behalf of workers.

Plan sponsors that are usually the target of stricter fiduciary regulations are this time poised to be on the receiving end of new protections under the department’s Retirement Security rules package (88 Fed. Reg. 75890–76045) issued Nov. 3. Yet, benefits plan advisers are ringing alarm bells over the trickle-down effects the proposals could have on other fiduciaries to workplace 401(k)s.

Employers already have a fiduciary duty ...