Biden’s 2024 Fiduciary Overreach Vacated: A Win for Savers and Choice

The Point

March 19, 2026

Highlights:

• Trump Department of Labor (DOL) vacates Biden’s 2024 fiduciary overreach: The Department formally struck down the rule that tried to impose strict ERISA fiduciary duties on far more brokers, insurance agents, and advisors for retirement discussions (IRAs, rollovers, etc.), which would have raised costs, limited advice access, and shrunk investment choices for everyday Americans.
• Restores the time-tested ERISA five-part test: Fiduciary status now applies only when there’s regular advice for compensation, a mutual understanding it’s the primary basis for decisions, and a genuine relationship of trust and confidence. Brokers and agents stay under SEC and state regulation — no automatic ERISA burdens.
• Real win for retirement savers and innovation: This rollback preserves marketplace flexibility, cuts litigation and compliance overhang for employers/providers, gives savers more options instead of fewer, and signals no new DOL rulemaking — prioritizing innovation and choice over heavy-handed government mandates.

On March 18, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) formally vacated the 2024 “Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary”, the Biden-era attempt to dramatically expand who counts as an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fiduciary for giving investment advice.

DOL’s move is a meaningful rollback of regulatory overreach that threatened to limit options for everyday Americans saving for retirement.

What the 2024 Rule Tried to Do

The vacated rule sought to broaden the definition of an “investment advice fiduciary” under ERISA. In practice, it would have imposed strict fiduciary duties (and the accompanying restrictions on prohibited transactions) on many more brokers, insurance agents, and financial professionals when discussing retirement products like IRAs or rollovers.

Proponents claimed the goal was greater “protection” for savers. In practice, it risked reducing access to advice, raising compliance costs, and shrinking the menu of investment choices available in 401(k)s, IRAs, and other plans.

The Courts Said No, and DOL Complied

Final judgments from federal courts in the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas vacated the rule, and DOL responded by removing it from the Code of Federal Regulations and restoring the long-standing ERISA five-part test for fiduciary status.

Under that test, which had been in place for decades before the attempted expansion, someone is only an ERISA fiduciary for investment advice if:

1. They provide advice on a regular basis
2. For a fee or other compensation
3. Pursuant to a mutual understanding
4. That the advice will serve as a primary basis for investment decisions
5. And there is a relationship of trust and confidence

While this rule was vacated, securities brokers and insurance agents remain regulated by the SEC and state authorities, and will not be hit with ERISA’s more burdensome regime.

Assistant Secretary Daniel Aronowitz laid it out:

“The challenged regulation wrongly sought to impose ERISA fiduciary status on securities brokers and insurance agents when there was not a relationship of trust and confidence. The Securities and Exchange Commission and state regulators regulate the activities of securities brokers and insurance agents and will continue to do so.”

Why It Matters

Returning to the pre-2024 policy preserves flexibility in the retirement marketplace. Employers and providers can continue offering better products and advice without the overhang of potential ERISA litigation and regulatory compliance burdens. Everyday retirement savers gain more options, rather than fewer.

The DOL’s signal of no new rulemaking in this area will provide certainty to the market, strengthening employer-based retirement plans through innovation, rather than government issued mandates.