retirement fees
Brokers Are Getting Some Unwanted Attention For All The Right Reasons
June 16, 2016
Benefit brokers are familiar with managing the “do we really need you” attitude of their clients. They devote a lot of time and energy proving they bring value to their clients that they could not get without them. And many of them do. They help clients choose insurance, retirement savings and other risk management products. Some are able to do this and save the client money even after factoring in their own fee…
Still many people begrudge brokers for receiving the type and amount of compensation they receive. They agree to the fee because it seems like such a small part of a much bigger transaction and they understand that that’s the way these transactions are done. However, thoughts about what brokers do and how well they do it to earn their commission linger.
These persistent thoughts about broker compensation came to the surface first with the health care reform law, then with retirement plan transparency regulation and later with the fiduciary rule.
Out In The Open At Last
With health care reform, brokers didn’t wait to be noticed. They moved from the middle to the front to express their concerns about navigators assuming their role, health insurance companies eliminating their commissions and regulators ignoring their existence. They felt disrespected and expressed their resentment in both negative and positive ways. Some brokers left the industry; others narrowed their focus and a few created profitable and disruptive niches that got a lot of attention. Too much attention… That was the case with Zenefits.
Zenefits is a technology company that provides software companies use to manage Human Resource administrative functions like benefit plan enrollments and changes, time and attendance tracking and ACA compliance. Zenefits is also a health insurance broker. In 2015, Zenefits, the brokerage, ran into regulatory trouble when it was revealed that it allowed unlicensed brokers to sell health insurance policies. It’s CEO and 250 employees were fired in early 2016. This week Zenefits is getting some more unwanted attention—it’s firing 106 more employees and encouraging others to leave and accept a severance package.
While the Zenefits health insurance broker story is interesting, it can’t compare to the drama happening in the retirement services sphere.
Retirement Plan Fees and Investment Performance In the Spotlight Continue Reading...
Still many people begrudge brokers for receiving the type and amount of compensation they receive. They agree to the fee because it seems like such a small part of a much bigger transaction and they understand that that’s the way these transactions are done. However, thoughts about what brokers do and how well they do it to earn their commission linger.
These persistent thoughts about broker compensation came to the surface first with the health care reform law, then with retirement plan transparency regulation and later with the fiduciary rule.
Out In The Open At Last
With health care reform, brokers didn’t wait to be noticed. They moved from the middle to the front to express their concerns about navigators assuming their role, health insurance companies eliminating their commissions and regulators ignoring their existence. They felt disrespected and expressed their resentment in both negative and positive ways. Some brokers left the industry; others narrowed their focus and a few created profitable and disruptive niches that got a lot of attention. Too much attention… That was the case with Zenefits.
Zenefits is a technology company that provides software companies use to manage Human Resource administrative functions like benefit plan enrollments and changes, time and attendance tracking and ACA compliance. Zenefits is also a health insurance broker. In 2015, Zenefits, the brokerage, ran into regulatory trouble when it was revealed that it allowed unlicensed brokers to sell health insurance policies. It’s CEO and 250 employees were fired in early 2016. This week Zenefits is getting some more unwanted attention—it’s firing 106 more employees and encouraging others to leave and accept a severance package.
While the Zenefits health insurance broker story is interesting, it can’t compare to the drama happening in the retirement services sphere.
Retirement Plan Fees and Investment Performance In the Spotlight Continue Reading...
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Denise Perkins
