The Department of Labor (DOL) issued final changes to regulations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the “Retirement Security Rule,” which amends the context in which one is an ERISA fiduciary under the rule, and in connection with the final rule, the DOL revised its prohibited transaction exemptions for ERISA fiduciaries, adding new exemptions which may be available to advisers with ERISA plan assets under management or who interact with ERISA fiduciaries as consultants to institutional investor plans that are ERISA plans.

The final rule is effective September 24, 2024. It has been challenged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas as of May 2, 2024, by an industry group seeking to vacate both the rule and the exemption amendments and enjoin the Department from enforcing or implementing the rules. Subsequently, members of Congress introduced a resolution on May 15, 2024, seeking to overturn the final rule.