Michael Scott would be proud. The paper industry is asking the Trump Administration to reject the Dept of Labor’s regulation shifting workers to paperless retirement disclosures.
Something called The Coalition for Paper Options—which claims to be an alliance of consumer organizations, labor unions, rural advocates, and print communications industry organizations—argues that the Department of Labor’s draft rule does not meet long-held standards for new regulation.
In a letter to Paul Ray, acting administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the Coalition for Paper Options says the administration should withdraw the proposal because “longstanding principles for regulatory planning and review, claimed administrative cost savings and unsubstantiated assertions do not justify government regulation.”
OIRA, which is housed within the Executive Office of the President and oversees implementation of government-wide policies, is part of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the agency currently considering the DOL’s draft delivery rule.
The Coalition for Paper Options said the DOL regulation fails to meet the key principle of Executive Order 12866 stating that new regulation must address “market failure justifying new regulation,” a principle which has governed U.S. regulatory planning and review for over 25 years.
Stay with the status quo
“Under the status quo, consumers who prefer their retirement plan disclosures in paper have their preference honored, and consumers who prefer electronic disclosure can opt-in to electronic delivery,” the Coalition writes, citing AARP, FINRA and the Pew Research Center research on why workers and retirees prefer paper disclosures of important and sensitive information. “Citizens who prefer electronic information are taking this option, while others continue their preference for paper-based disclosures. In any event, the current system is working.”
The Coalition continued, “There is no compelling evidence that DOL knows better than the millions of workers who prefer to receive their particularly sensitive and important retirement information in paper form and have chosen not to opt out of paper information.”
The Coalition for Paper Options also notes that the Department of Labor’s proposed paperless disclosure regulation—primarily intended to save money for plan fiduciaries—does not meet the longstanding principle in President Reagan’s Executive Order 12291 that, “unless statutory language requires otherwise, agencies may only regulate if it will do more good than harm, and maximize net benefits to the public.”
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
