Regulation

Plan sponsors and advisers are still able to provide generic facts about retirement savings and 401(k) plans without being subject to the DOL’s new rule.

Employee benefit brokers weigh in on how the new regulation will impact their business and that of their employer clients.

Retirement plan advisers must rethink how they work and get paid, according to benefits attorneys and industry insiders.

Broad in scope, the final DOL ruling favors plan sponsors, but also puts pressure on them to adjust to new industry realities.

Retirement plan industry experts are greeting the Department of Labor’s plans, which will force employers to be more cautious when hiring advisers, with a mix of caution and optimism.

Some advisers are calling it the most sweeping regulatory reform of the retirement industry in 76 years.

The ACA’s excise tax shouldn’t include contributions to HSAs and FSAs, benefit experts say, arguing that such a levy may lead employers to cut those health programs from their plans.

Having had time to take measure of the healthcare reform law, their focus is shifting from ensuring compliance to controlling costs, says Eric Helman of Hodges-Mace.

The ACA’s excise tax shouldn’t include contributions to HSAs and FSAs, benefit experts say, arguing that such a levy may lead employers to cut those health programs from their plans.

New calculation methods and benefit expectations will leave employers needing plan-design help from advisers.