BE Informed

Department of Labor Unveils Regulatory Agenda for 2023

Written by Brown Edwards | Sep 11, 2023 12:00:00 PM

Plan Sponsor Alert: Department of Labor Unveils Regulatory Agenda for 2023

SECURE 2.0 was signed into law on December 29, 2022, and makes sweeping changes to retirement savings plans. Before plan sponsors can take advantage of the many provisions in SECURE 2.0, the DOL will need to provide additional regulations and guidance on some of the provisions. In other words, there is more to come on SECURE 2.0.

In the meantime, the DOL is focused on 17 items recently released in its biannual regulatory agenda. Plan sponsors and other industry experts should pay attention to this agenda to be sure they understand how these changes may affect them—particularly in areas such as changes to the fiduciary rule, updates on pooled employer plans, and final rules on lifetime income illustrations.

In total, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) listed three pre-rule stage items, nine proposed rule stage items, and five final rule stage items in its recently released regulatory agenda.

 

Pre-Rule Stage

 

Proposed Rule Stage

 

Final Rule Stage

 

Independent Contractor Classification

Under the Wage and Hour Division agenda, the DOL announced that it expects to issue a final rule clarifying independent contractor status in May 2023. This ruling has been issued, delayed, and debated in court by the Biden and Trump administrations. The current administration believes the 2021 regulation does not reflect what is written in the Fair Labor Standards Act and will issue its updated rule to complement the law.