Legal

Seventy-five percent of small business owners polled in a recent survey said they agree that most American workers are financially unprepared for retirement, but only one in five small businesses offer their employees a 401(k) or other employee self-funded retirement plan.

Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts announced his retirement Monday effective at the end of next year, closing out a congressional career of more than three decades capped by passage of legislation imposing new regulations on Wall Street.

Retirement plan advisors remain focused on increasing client satisfaction and guiding them through market volatility and upcoming regulatory changes, according to a new report by Transamerica Retirement Services.

The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered nearly $8 million in back wages, fringe benefits and 401(k) plan assets for more than 2,000 security guards formerly employed by USProtect Corp., a defunct company that provided security services for federal buildings across the country.

Fred Reish, well-known among advisors as the ERISA guru, recently predicted areas of relief that the Department of Labors Employee Benefits Security Administration will provide when it reproposes its rule amending the definition of fiduciary early next year.

The Social Security program has lived to see another day, thanks to the squabbling of the budget deficit supercommittee, which announced Monday it had failed to agree on a proposal.