While Judge Vacates Retirement Security Rule, Fiduciary Standards Remain
On March 12, 2026, Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas approved a motion to vacate the Retirement Security Rule. That motion was unopposed by the Department of Labor (DOL).
The 2024 Retirement Security Rule – frequently referred to as the “fiduciary rule” – and amended PTE 84-24 were scheduled to go into effect on September 23, 2024, but were stayed during the judiciary review of these suits. The Biden administration finalized the Retirement Security Rule in April 2024. The focus of that rule was to extend ERISA fiduciary duties to one-time professional retirement investment recommendations, such as rollovers, annuity purchases, or plan menu design.
Under the longstanding framework—rooted in a 1975 regulation—an advisor becomes an ERISA fiduciary only if the advice satisfies a five-part test, including that it be provided on a “regular basis.” As a result, a one-time recommendation to roll assets from a plan to an IRA would likely fall outside that definition. The now-abandoned rule sought to change that dynamic by broadening when advice would trigger fiduciary status—basically laying a foundation that said a single advice recommendation that was the basis for an ongoing relationship could qualify.
Despite the recent legal decision, there is very much a fiduciary rule still in place—and for advisors already serving retirement plans as fiduciaries under ERISA, the practical impact of the recent court ruling is minimal.[i] Advisors serving as 3(21) fiduciaries or 3(38) investment managers were—and remain—subject to ERISA’s duties of prudence and loyalty. Significantly, PTE 2020-02 remains in place with requirements regarding acting in the client’s best interest, providing written disclosures regarding fiduciary status, conflicts of interest, and compensation practices, and the documentation of rollover recommendations.
In our experience, many advisory firms had already adopted procedures and business models that would likely have satisfied even the Obama-era fiduciary rule.
The Trump administration had previously indicated that it planned to issue a new fiduciary rule by May 2026. While the DOL’s Spring 2025 regulatory agenda did not provide substantive details on what the new rule might change, it did say that it “will ensure that the regulation is based on the best reading of the statute,” and is responsive to an executive order calling on departments to deregulate. [ii]
What This Means for You
- Ensure that your current practices and procedures—particularly rollovers—conform to PTE 2020-02
- Remind clients that your services adhere to ERISA fiduciary standards, while other advisors/providers may not
[i] In vacating the rule, the court’s decision means that the regulation never existed.
[ii] Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, “Agency Rule List (Active)—Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions,” RegInfo.gov, accessed March 16, 2026, https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaMain?operation=OPERATION_GET_AGENCY_RULE_LIST¤tPub=true&agencyCode=&showStage=active&agencyCd=1200