26.10.2017 07.33 GMT+0000
Retirement plan assets are an attractive target for financial services firms. These firms (often including providers hired by the employer) have a wide variety of ways to steer employees to high priced products and services. And, despite efforts to help employees save and invest for retirement, employees remain vulnerable. Employers need to do more if they want to protect employees – and themselves.
Protecting Employers by Protecting Employees’ Accounts
Employers provide lots of information to retirement plan participants about their investment choices and distribution options. Despite these efforts, there is a significant gap in efforts to protect employee savings. The gap occurs because financial services firms make a lot of money by steering employees to higher priced investment and insurance products.
New Department of Labor regulations will still leave gaps – gaps that financial firms are sure to exploit. There is more that employers can do to protect plan participants – and themselves. But it will require a new approach.
