Legal

Todays Department of Labor is the most aggressive in years and one of its biggest initiatives imposing the fiduciary standard on broker-dealers will flood the market with hundreds, if not thousands, of new RIAs.

More than 30 lawsuits have been filed against 401(k) plan sponsors in the past few years, leaving little doubt that the retirement field remains strewn with legal landmines.

Politics aside, tax reform is coming and it could well mean an overhaul of the pension system including a government takeover.

Broker-dealers are worried that the proposed changes to the fiduciary standard could cost them up to $8 million to set up and about $2 million a year to maintain. Thats per broker-dealer.

California officials are suing the U.S. Department of Labor for denying billions of dollars in mass transit money to the state after lawmakers approved pension reforms.

The American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries wrote to the IRS this week to object to certain paperwork requirements arising from the Supreme Courts decision to strike down a key portion of the Defense of Marriage Act.