That of course could never happen. Before Treasury rolled out its pilot MyRA program, the Department of Labor was consulted, and ultimately addressed the very question of whether or not sponsors would be subject to ERISA oversight if they were to host a MyRA plan.

The DOL was unambiguous. In short, no, MyRA plans, and sponsors that utilize them, are not subject to ERISA's regulations.

"The Department is of the view that an employer would not be establishing or maintaining an 'employee pension benefit plan' within the meaning of section 3(2) of ERISA based solely on the facts that employees participate through payroll withholding contributions," wrote John Canary, director of regulations and interpretations at the DOL, in a letter addressed to Mark Iwry, deputy assistant Secretary for Retirement and Health Policy at Treasury.

That assurance—that the small businesses that move contributions from payrolls into MyRA savings plans will not be subject to ERISA oversight—effectively gave Treasury the green light to roll out the pilot program.

Designed to give access to workplace plans where there is none, MyRA accounts are expected to be available to any individual making less than $131,000 a year ($193,000 for couples).

Contributions are diverted from payroll, made after-tax like a Roth IRA, and have the same annual deferral limit of IRAs—$5,500, or $6,500 for those over 50.

Unlike IRAs, the value of MyRA accounts can never exceed $15,000. At that point, the accounts are rolled over into a private sector IRA or savings account.

Their other key distinction? Contributions will only be invested in a newly created government security, and pay an interest rate comparable to the Thrift Savings Plan G Fund, offered to government employees in their defined contribution plans.

It's that aspect of the Obama Administration's plan that most roils Marotta. Beyond its intention to motivate retirement savings with small-dollar savers and the segment of the workforce that doesn't have access to workplace plans, Treasury also designed the program so that the accounts will never lose value, so long as they are not withdrawn from.

By not allowing access to equity investments, participants are protected from stock markets' volatility.

That reasoning doesn't fly with Marotta, whose Virginia-based fee-only RIA firm oversees about $280 million in assets.

"The rationale that saving something is better than saving nothing, even if how you are saving is not in an individual's best interest, is questionable," he said.

"The true economic cost of the MyRA plan shouldn't be measured against not saving anything at all, but measured against what is considered a sound investment strategy," he added.

Marotta says the TSP G Fund, the model for the new MyRA retirement security, has recently returned between 1.45 percent and 2.5 percent. Furthermore, over the past three years, the G Fund's have returned less than 6 percent, compared to 10.10 percent of the U.S. Total Bond Market Index, and 56.82 percent on the S&P 500.

It's those returns that lead Marotta to dismiss the idea that a new government-run savings program presents a competitive option to private sector advisors looking to grow in the small-business market.

"They are no more of a threat than a firm selling a treasuries-only investment strategy would be," explained Marotta. "The strategy just doesn't make sense. Because the accounts are so limited in what they do, I think ultimately they'll prove to be useless to the people they are intended to help."

Others in the investment community disagree. BenefitsPro columnist Rich White thinks MyRA plans could be functional as part of a larger retirement strategy, particularly for savers in their 20s.

"Although MyRAs won't set the financial world afire due to built-in limits, they have a place in retirement planning, as guaranteed (can't-lose-principal) starter plans for young people. Their tax-free interest rates may not be bad over time, either. In fact, they should beat just about any taxable CD rate currently available," wrote White.

Could it be that with the MyRA program, the Treasury Department has actually created a boon for retirement advisors?

Potentially, more younger savers will have skin in the game, and the accounts' modest cap of $15,000 could mean a whole new segment of customers for advisors to target.

Marotta for one isn't counting on that, as he insists the MyRA initiative won't be long for the retirement saving world.

"An ultra-conservative portfolio that struggles to keep up with inflation is not what people want or need," he said. "I'd be surprised if they gathered any assets at all."

Beyond their strategic limitations, Marotta also takes issue with the fact that participants' contributions to new government-issued bonds will go to fund government spending.

That smacks of hypocrisy to Marotta.

"It would be like if General Electric had a retirement plan that said you could only invest in the company's corporate bonds," he said.

"The government should at least abide by their own rules. They shouldn't be putting everything into savings bonds when they are the ones benefiting from them," he said.