PA Treasurer Torsella Praises Announcement That Implementation Of Fiduciary Standard Rule Will Begin Next Month

HARRISBURG, Pa., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Treasurer Joe Torsella today praised the announcement by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that the Fiduciary Standard Rule will take effect on June 9.

"As a strong advocate of the Fiduciary Standard Rule, I welcome this announcement as a significant win after a hard-fought battle," said Torsella. "Protection of individual investors needs to be the priority and imposing "best interest" standards is a commonsense approach that is essential for protecting hard-working Americans. I urge the Secretary of Labor to maintain the Fiduciary Standard Rule in the months ahead."

Last year, the DOL issued its final rule expanding the "investment advice fiduciary" definition under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The Fiduciary Standard Rule mandates financial professionals who provide services to individual retirement accounts, including IRAs and 401(k) plans, to act in the best and exclusive interest of the investing client and disclose any conflicts of interest.

Implementation of the rule had been delayed following the start of the new presidential administration. Treasurer Torsella urged immediate implementation of the rule, noting the critical importance of a strong standard of care to protect the client's interest in any investment management relationship.

"Pennsylvania is facing a potential retirement savings disaster, with many of our citizens dangerously unprepared for their future needs. The Fiduciary Standard Rule provides a certainty of standards in a situation that is uncertain to so many individual investors," said Torsella. "As Pennsylvanians work hard and try to save for retirement, they deserve financial advice from professionals that are held to a legal standard to act in the client's best interests."

Full implementation of the Fiduciary Standard Rule is currently expected to take effect on January 1, 2018. The Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta, however recently stated that public comment will be sought on how to potentially revise the rule.

The Pennsylvania Treasury is an independent department of state government led by the state treasurer, who is elected every four years. The department's primary duty is to safeguard and manage the state's public funds. It invests state money to generate income on behalf of the citizens of Pennsylvania, reviews and processes payments for state government agencies, and serves as custodian of more than $100 billion in state funds. Key Treasury programs include Unclaimed Property, PA 529 College Savings Program and the Board of Finance and Revenue. To learn more visit patreasury.gov.

Media Contact:
Heidi Havens, Treasury, (717) 787-2991 or [email protected]

SOURCE Pennsylvania Treasury Department