Factbox - Department of Labor retirement 'fiduciary' rule

(Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Labor plans to announce on Wednesday its rule requiring financial advisers and brokers to act in the best interest of retirement clients when providing investment advice.

The agency first proposed a new rule in 2010 but withdrew it in 2011 after widespread criticism from financial industry officials and lawmakers. A modified version was presented in 2015 and also met with criticism.

Here are some key provisions of the final rule, according to a White House fact sheet provided on Tuesday:

- Financial brokers must now act in clients' "best interest" when giving retirement investment advice. That is tougher than a previous standard in which they had to ensure products were "suitable" for clients.

- Firms must ban financial incentives for advisers not to act in the client's best interest.

- Firms must disclose compensation arrangements on a webpage and by making sure customers are aware of their right to all fee information.

- The rule allows firms and advisers to continue receiving the most common forms of compensation for offering investment advice to retail customers and small-plan sponsors. The rule also does not limit the types of assets they can invest in.

- Firms are allowed to sell insurance products like variable and indexed annuities under the best interest rule.

- The rule clarifies treatment of small businesses that sponsor 401(k) plans, allowing brokers to sell products and services to them.

- The rule allows firms and their advisers to recommend proprietary products.

- Education is not included in the definition of retirement investment advice, allowing advisers to offer basic information without acting as fiduciaries.

- Under the rule, financial advisers may communicate with potential clients before signing a contract. But firms must eventually tell new clients in writing that they are acting in their best interest, and any advice given before a contract is signed must be covered by the contract and meet the best interest standard.

- To give firms more time to adapt to changes, the rule will be implemented in phases. Full compliance is required on Jan. 1, 2018.

(Reporting by Tariro Mzezewa in New York; Editing by Peter Cooney)