Owners of small-balance individual retirement
accounts (IRAs) are not who most people think they are, the Department of Labor
(DOL) says in a new Q&A document. Defending objections to its fiduciary
rule proposal, the DOL says it is particularly concerned with those low- and
middle-income workers and families who enter the IRA marketplace through
rollovers from a workplace-based retirement plan. These workers depend heavily
on these plans to do most of their saving, so rolling over their assets is one
of the most important financial decisions they can make. Right now, the DOL
contends, many retirement investment advisers do not have to adhere to fiduciary
standards when giving rollover advice, and depending on the arrangement, their
advice does not have to be in the saver’s best interest.Read more > |