Sen. Chuck Grassley, as then-chairman of the Committee on Finance, with jurisdiction over taxes, played a large role in drafting the Pension Protection Act of 2006. That bill became law and contained the most sweeping reforms of pension funding rules since 1974, helping to guarantee that companies uphold their pension promises to workers. The measure permanently extended enhancements to employer-based retirement plans and individual retirement savings tax incentives that Grassley led to enactment in 2001. Last September, Grassley joined a letter from the Iowa congressional delegation to the Secretary of Labor on the need for substantial changes to the department’s proposed fiduciary rule for financial advisors. He made the following comment on the final fiduciary rule released today.
“Everybody agrees financial advisors should work in their clients’ best interests but federal regulations that put financial advice out of reach for people who won’t be able to afford it could be throwing the baby out with the bath water. Regulations that raise costs for financial advisors could make it unaffordable for small businesses to offer their employees retirement plans. Also, additional regulations might price small financial firms out of the market. The end result would be fewer choices for consumers. I’ll look at the regulations more closely but so far, I’m worried that the Obama Administration pushed forward with something that could result in worse services, fewer options and higher costs for a lot of customers.”
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