Welcome to Week 3 in the Trump administration …
Donald Trump’s executive orders continue: This week, President Trump blocked the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule for further study. The rule had been scheduled to phase in beginning in April. According to Investopedia, the rule demands that advisors act in the best interests of their clients, and put their clients’ interests above their own, leaving no room for advisors to conceal potential conflicts of interest. It also states that all fees and commissions must be clearly disclosed in dollar form to clients. In addition, the new rule adds brokers, financial planners, insurance agents and financial salespersons to the fiduciary level, increasing their financial accountability. Formerly, these individuals were protected as long as they provided ‘suitable’ investments; now, however, with the new rule, they are legally obligated to put their client’s best interests first.. The new rule could therefore eliminate many commission structures that govern the industry.
FIDUCIARY RULE – AS STRUCTURED, HELPING OR HURTING EMPLOYEES
However, there is some concern that the new rule may actually be hindering employees from receiving advice and assistance with their retirement investments; therefore, the executive order delays the rule until an ‘economic and legal analysis’ can be performed … At eESI, we believe fiduciary protection is vital. We encourage you to review the eESI 401k for your company because it provides the fiduciary protections you need. You can watch a brief video that outlines six advantages of the plan, including its fiduciary protection at the end of today’s post.
In Risk, Forbes posted a story entitled, “Why Cybersecurity Should be the Biggest Concern of 2017.” Written by a professional hacker, the article outlines the growing threat to business owners. The day after that post, it was reported that a a Dallas hospital was fined 3.2 million dollars for HIPAA violations due to a security breach. You can find some very helpful tips on protecting your company by reading our eESI blog post on the subject.
In Benefits, NerdWallet published an excellent article on the differences between FSA and HSA savings accounts, designed to help participants cover high deductible out of pocket expenses. The post provides a simple comparison of the different features of both plans, making it easy for you to choose the right one for your company.
