[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 4, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6007-6008]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-2296]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
29 CFR 2550
RIN 1210-AB13
Investment Advice--Participants and Beneficiaries
AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice of proposed extension of effective date and
applicability date; request for public comments on legal and policy
questions relating to the final rule.
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SUMMARY: Consistent with the memorandum of January 20, 2009, from the
Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, entitled ``Regulatory
Review,'' this document proposes to extend for 60 days the effective
and applicability dates of final rules under the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act, and parallel provisions of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, relating to the provision of investment advice to
participants and beneficiaries in individual account plans, such as
401(k) plans, and beneficiaries of individual retirement accounts (and
certain similar plans). These rules were published in the Federal
Register on January 21, 2009. Extending the effective date would allow
the Department of Labor to evaluate comments on questions of law and
policy concerning the rules. Thus, this document also seeks comments
generally on the rules and on the merits of rescinding, modifying or
retaining the rules.
DATES: Comments on the proposal to extend the effective and
applicability date should be submitted to the Department on or before
February 18, 2009. Comments on the provisions of 29 CFR 2550.408g-1 and
2550.408g-2 should be submitted to the Department on or before March 6,
2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fred Wong, Office of Regulations and
Interpretations, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA),
(202) 693-8500. This is not a toll-free number.
ADDRESSES: To facilitate the receipt and processing of comment letters,
EBSA encourages interested persons to submit their comments
electronically by e-mail to [email protected] (enter into subject line:
Investment Advice Final Rule) or by using the Federal eRulemaking
portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Persons submitting comments
electronically are encouraged not to submit paper copies. Persons
interested in submitting paper
[[Page 6008]]
copies should send or deliver their comments to the Office of
Regulations and Interpretations, Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Attn: Investment Advice Final Rule, Room N-5655, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20210. All comments will be available to the public, without charge,
online at http://www.regulations.gov and http://www.dol.gov/ebsa and at
the Public Disclosure Room, N-1513, Employee Benefits Security
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 21, 2009, the Department of Labor
published final rules on the provision of investment advice to
participants and beneficiaries of participant-directed individual
account plans and to beneficiaries of individual retirement accounts
(74 FR 3822). The rules contain regulations implementing a statutory
prohibited transaction exemption under ERISA Sec. 408(b)(14) and Sec.
408(g) and an administrative class exemption granting additional
relief. As published, these rules were to be effective on March 23,
2009. Paragraph (g) of Sec. 2550.408g-1 provided that the rule would
apply to covered transactions occurring on or after March 23, 2009.
By memorandum dated January 20, 2009, Rahm Emanuel, Assistant to
the President and Chief of Staff, directed Agency Heads to consider
extending for 60 days the effective date of regulations that have been
published in the Federal Register but not yet taken effect. The
memorandum further advised that, where such regulations are extended,
agencies should allow 30 days for interested persons to comment on
issues of law and policy raised by the rules. In accordance with that
memorandum, and taking into account the considerations listed in the
Memorandum of January 21, 2009, from Peter R. Orszag, Director of the
Office of Management and Budget, the Department is proposing to extend
the effective date for these rules until May 22, 2009, and to make a
conforming amendment to the applicability date of Sec. 2550.408g-1.
Extending the effective date for 60 days will allow the public to
comment on whether the rules raise significant policy and legal issues
and for the Department to review these comments and the rules before
the relief granted by the rules becomes available. The exemptive relief
granted by the rules would serve little purpose if the Department were
to withdraw or amend the rules after plans and investment advisers had
implemented procedures and incurred expenses in order to make use of
the exemptive relief.
The Department solicits comments on the proposal to extend the
effective and applicability dates for 60 days. For this purpose, the
comment period will end on February 18, 2009. At the same time, the
Department also solicits comments on issues of law and policy
concerning all the provisions of these rules. The purpose of these
comments is to assist the Department in its review of these rules. Upon
completion of this review, the Department may decide to allow the rules
to take effect, issue a further extension, withdraw the rules, or
propose amendments. The Department requests comments on each of these
possible outcomes. The comment period for this broader purpose will end
on March 6, 2009.
List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 2550
Employee benefit plans, Exemptions, Fiduciaries, Investments,
Pensions, Prohibited transactions, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, and Securities.
For the reasons set forth above, the publication on January 21,
2009 (73 FR 3822), of the final rule amending 29 CFR Part 2550, is
proposed to be further amended as follows:
PART 2550--RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY
1. The authority citation for part 2550 is revised to read as
follows:
Authority: 29 U.S.C. 1135; and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 1-
2003, 68 FR 5374 (Feb. 3, 2003). Sec. 2550.401b-1 also issued under
sec. 102, Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978, 43 FR 47713 (Oct. 17,
1978), 3 CFR, 1978 Comp. 332, effective Dec. 31, 1978, 44 FR 1065
(Jan. 3, 1978), 3 CFR, 1978 Comp. 332. Sec. 2550.401c-1 also issued
under 29 U.S.C. 1101. Sections 2550.404c-1 and 2550.404c-5 also
issued under 29 U.S.C. 1104. Sec. 2550.407c-3 also issued under 29
U.S.C. 1107. Sec. 2550.404a-2 also issued under 26 U.S.C. 401 note
(sec. 657, Pub. L. 107-16, 115 Stat. 38). Sec. 2550.408b-1 also
issued under 29 U.S.C. 1108(b)(1) and sec. 102, Reorganization Plan
No. 4 of 1978, 3 CFR, 1978 Comp. p. 332, effective Dec. 31, 1978, 44
FR 1065 (Jan. 3, 1978), and 3 CFR, 1978 Comp. 332. Sec. 2550.408b-19
also issued under sec. 611, Public Law 109-280, 120 Stat. 780, 972,
and sec. 102, Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978, 3 CFR, 1978 Comp.
p. 332, effective Dec. 31, 1978, 44 FR 1065 (Jan. 3, 1978), and 3
CFR, 1978 Comp. 332. Sec. 2550.408g-1 also issued under sec. 102,
Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978, 3 CFR, 1978 Comp. p. 332,
effective Dec. 31, 1978, 44 FR 1065 (Jan. 3, 1978), and 3 CFR, 1978
Comp. 332. Sec. 2550.408g-2 also issued under 29 U.S.C. 1108(g) and
sec. 102, Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978, 3 CFR, 1978 Comp. p.
332, effective Dec. 31, 1978, 44 FR 1065 (Jan. 3, 1978), and 3 CFR,
1978 Comp. 332. Sec. 2550.412-1 also issued under 29 U.S.C. 1112.
2. Section 2550.408g-1 is amended by removing the date ``March 23,
2009'' and adding in its place ``May 22, 2009'' in paragraph (g).
Signed at Washington, DC, this 29th day of January, 2009.
Alan D. Lebowitz,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations, Employee Benefits
Security Administration, Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. E9-2296 Filed 2-3-09; 8:45 am]
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