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The Department of Labor’s new 401(k) fee disclosure requirements that take effect Jan. 1, 2012 go far beyond disclosing mutual fund expense ratios to cover every nook and cranny of expenses in plans, right down to indirect service providers, speakers said at the FundForum USA 2010 conference in Boston Nov. 1.

Unless the lame-duck Congress acts to extend the Bush-era tax cuts about to expire at the end of 2010, the income tax rates that will take effect Jan. 1, 2011 will return to the rates that were in effect a decade ago. The result: More money will be withheld from paychecks, according to an analyst at the tax publisher CCH.

When California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in late September signed bills creating the nation's first state exchange under PPACA, the move was a "disappointment" and "clearly dangerous" to health insurance brokers and advisers, say those who have been following the legislation's development.

At this point we are approaching the end of the year, and many of this year's key renewals have been handled. Undoubtedly your time has been consumed with all the day-to-day tactical activities required to manage your business and to retain your clients. And in all likelihood you are beginning to get used to the potential impact of health care reform and whatever the "new normal" will be.

Maybe it's easier because I'm a woman, but I somehow manage to get on the news or in local trade journals and newspapers a lot ... for free. No paid advertising has ever brought me even half of the income that results from these free radio shows, public appearances and newspaper write-ups. Maybe it's because women tend to have an aura of trust about us that men have to earn. This isn't fair, but few things are.

Only a tiny percentage of pet owners in the United States have insurance for their pet, but according to the American Pet Products Association, about 62% of U.S. households have a pet. Clearly, the pet insurance is a market ripe for growth. "The message there is in the opportunity to increase participation for consumers and for groups," says JoAnne Novak, VP, business development with Hartville Group, Inc., and its flagship brand ASPCA Pet Health Insurance.

With the advent of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and growing government intervention into the benefits industry, the consensus among industry experts is that becoming a trusted adviser and HR compliance consultant is the future role of successful brokers. More than ever before, clients will need expert advice and counsel - an invaluable resource to help HR with their benefits-oriented decisionmaking.

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