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Barry Ritholtz

Fiscal Hawks Should Love Cheaper Retirement Plans

Changes in rules governing retirement-plan managers and advisers will lower their fees, increase retirees' savings and help limit tax increases.
Lower taxes for the young, better retirements for the elderly.

Lower taxes for the young, better retirements for the elderly.

Photographer: Ute Grabowsky/Photothek via Getty Images
Corrected

I wanted to spend a bit of time on the Labor Department’s proposal to place a fiduciary obligation on those who manage or provide investment advice on retirement plans. These include individual retirement accounts and 401(k)s (including 403(b)s). The new rules require the broker or adviser to “operate in the best interest of the client.”

I don’t want to rehash all of the reasons why this is a very good idea -- I did that last year in an article with the headline "Find a financial adviser who will put your interests first." Instead, I want to explain why fiscal conservatives should rally around this idea as a way to hold down taxes.