EBSA Eliminates Three Interpretive Bulletins, Calling Them ‘Unnecessary’

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration announced on Monday that it is removing three interpretive bulletins related to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, calling them obsolete and unnecessary. 

The rule eliminates Interpretive Bulletins 75-2, 75-6, and 75-10 from Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations. These bulletins, issued shortly after ERISA’s passage, were originally intended to guide fiduciaries and plan sponsors navigating the complex new law. However, the Department stated that subsequent regulations and legal developments have rendered them redundant.

“The DOL believes the interpretive bulletins are no longer needed, and if left on the books, add potential confusion and unnecessary complexity,” the agency stated in the release. The notice stated that the action follows a January Executive Order by President Donald Trump called “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation” by “reducing unnecessary, burdensome, and costly federal regulations.”

The Removed Bulletins

Interpretive Bulletin 75-2 offered the DOL’s views on prohibited transactions involving parties in interest in an employee benefit plan. The DOL believes newer sub–regulatory guidance provides a more current and accurate framework about the Department’s view of prohibited transactions.

Plaintiffs have frequently filed complaints this year alleging plan sponsors had engaged in prohibited transactions as part of a recent flurry of ERISA litigation. Daniel Aronowitz, who awaits a full Senate vote to head the EBSA, said he plans to end the flood of cases.  

Interpretive Bulletin 75-6 concerned fiduciary expense advances, a topic that was comprehensively addressed by a final regulation in 1977, according to the release. 

“There is no reason to permit identical standards for the same conduct to exist in two different parts of the Code of Federal Regulations,” the agency stated in the release. “Indeed, analyzing both regulations to determine whether they are different or cover different conduct only wastes time and resources that could be more productively employe,”

Interpretive Bulletin 75-10 clarified the interplay between IRS and DOL jurisdiction. That issue was effectively resolved by the Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978 and its Congressional ratification in 1984, making the bulletin unnecessary, according to the release. 

While the rule is set to take effect 60 days from its official publication—the DOL is inviting public comment during the first 30 days.