EPI economists Heidi Shierholz and Monique Morrissey submitted an official comment in response to a Department of Labor Request for Information on further delaying the fiduciary rule, rebutting arguments that the rule will hurt savers.

Shierholz and Morrissey point out that there is no evidence that the rule will cause investors to lose access to products or services that actually benefit them. Even if the industry’s prediction that the rule could cause investors to lose access to some investment products is borne out, it does not follow that investors will be harmed since these products are unlikely to be in savers’ best interests.

“Affected industries invariably predict dire outcomes from regulations they oppose,” said Morrissey, “And there are no repercussions when their predictions prove unfounded. People saving for retirement lose millions a year due to bad advice from conflicted financial professions. They need a strong and fully-enforced fiduciary rule.”

People saving for retirement need and deserve to receive the protections of the full fiduciary rule. The department should conclude that the fiduciary rule should become fully applicable on January 1, 2018, as currently scheduled.