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ARTICLE · 03 JANUARY 2017

Benefits Counselor December 2016

Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren SC
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District courts in Washington D.C. and Kansas recently rejected challenges to the Department of Labor...

United StatesEmployment and HR
Steven Huff
Steven Huff
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Retirement Plan Developments

District Courts Uphold Fiduciary Rule

District courts in Washington D.C. and Kansas recently rejected challenges to the Department of Labor's ("DOL") fiduciary rule.

On November 4, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in National Association for Fixed Annuities v. Perez, denied the National Association for Fixed Annuities' ("NAFA") request for an injunction blocking enforcement of the fiduciary rule. The court rejected each of the three particular arguments made by NAFA: (1) that the DOL's decision to include fixed indexed annuities within the rule was arbitrary and capricious; (2) that the DOL unlawfully created a private right of action; and (3) that the regulation is "void for vagueness" because the Best Interest Contract Exemption (the "BICE") limits compensation to a "reasonable" level.

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