Fiduciary 401(k) Proposal a ‘Broadside Attack’ on Annuity Market

The Biden administration’s controversial new fiduciary investment advice proposal has in its cross hairs a $300 billion life insurance annuities market with deep ties to 401(k)s as a method for delivering steady retirement income.

Proposed US Labor Department rules the president unveiled last week would require a wider swath of the financial services industry to operate under strict fiduciary standards of conduct. The announcement reignited a simmering, decade-old showdown between Wall Street and DOL’s benefits regulator over its authority to control pension assets after they leave employer-sponsored plans.

As the dust settles and the breadth of the Employee Benefits Security ...