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Retirement Planning should not be only a Luxury for the Rich

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Rep Scott Garrett promoting North Jersey Business

Rep Scott Garrett on Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule: Another roadblock between people and their financial goals

Apr 6, 2016
the staff  of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05), Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, issued the following statement after the Department of Labor (DOL) announced their finalized rule for retirement advisors—known as the “fiduciary rule”—that could turn retirement planning into an unaffordable luxury. The hyper-partisan rule was unveiled at the liberal think tank, the Center for American Progress, with a group of Democrat lawmakers.

“Saving for the future shouldn’t be a privilege for the wealthy, and Washington doesn’t need to put another roadblock between people and their financial goals. By ignoring the advice of the SEC and Congress, the DOL’s rule will increase the cost of retirement advice for lower- and middle-income Americans while creating a preferred class of rich investors. I will continue to fight for everyone’s right to get good financial advice because—unlike this administration—I believe in the people of New Jersey to make the best choices for their families and their futures.”

The DOL fiduciary rule could result in many people finding out that their accounts are too small to qualify for professional advice because providers will be forced to only service large accounts. In many cases, minimum account balances will increase substantially, effectively shutting down the ability of average investors to receive advice. It could also limit access to financial products that people are able to utilize when developing a retirement savings portfolio.

In October, Congressman Garrett voted for H.R. 1090, the Retail Investor Protection Act, which would block the DOL’s rule and ask for advice and expertise from the Securities and Exchange Commission before implementing any new rules.