Healthcare

Complete, ongoing coverage on the Labor Department's hearings on its proposal to impose fiduciary requirements on retirement advisors from SoureMedia's Financial Planning, On Wall Street, Employee Benefit Advisor and Employee Benefit News.

Of the many industry critiques of the Department of Labor's fiduciary proposal, one of the most oft-repeated is the assertion that new regulations would cut off access to advice for low- and middle income investors — precisely the segment of consumers the initiative aims to protect.

Commentary: With employees fighting back and winning against high fees and a new fiduciary standard on the way, we’re on the cusp of some radical changes to the corporate retirement landscape.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has awarded consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton a $202 million contract to be the marketplace system integrator, or general contractor, which includes the federally-facilitated health insurance marketplace, parts of the state-run marketplaces and more.

The Plan Sponsor Council of America outlines its concerns over the DOL’s proposal to impose fiduciary requirements on retirement advisers.

Despite potential savings offered, voluntary programs that provide discounts on products, services and tickets to employees are rarely used and seeing almost no growth year-over-year.

Based on the questions at the oral arguments, how might the Supreme Court rule on King v. Burwell and what are the implications of such a ruling? Watch as Timothy Jost, a law professor at Washington and Lee University, discusses potential outcomes of the ruling, expected later this month.

In its first day of hearings about the proposed fiduciary rule, the DOL has heard testimony from advisers, legal experts and other industry representatives — many seeking revisions to minimize the ‘burden’ of the rule’s future implementation.

Concerns about over-regulation and accusations of industry cynicism led the opening of the Labor Department's hearings on its proposal to impose fiduciary requirements on retirement advisers — the latest phase of its contentious process to craft new rules on consumer protections.

Despite a growing optimism about their financial situations, African-Americans still participate in their employer-sponsored retirement plans at lower rates than the general population, indicating a continued need for employers to focus on retirement plan education.