Would you ever pay for a dinner without an itemized check? Buy a pair of shoes without knowing the price — or whether they’d wreck your feet long-term? Of course not. That would be insane.
So why do we accept exactly that when it comes to retirement advice?
After nearly 40 years in this industry, the lack of transparency for everyday investors is still the thing that bothers me most — and this month, it just got worse.
What Just Happened
A federal judge struck down the “Retirement Security Rule” — a regulation that would have legally required brokers and insurance agents to put your best interests first when recommending retirement products like annuities or IRA rollovers. It’s gone. Dead. Vacated.
What It Means For You
If someone recommends you roll a retirement account into an IRA or purchase an annuity, commissions may be part of that transaction. Without a federal fiduciary standard in place, there’s no uniform legal requirement ensuring that recommendation is based solely on your best interest.
Existing rules do require that a recommendation be appropriate at the time of sale — and that matters. But the obligation stops there. There’s no ongoing commitment to your financial wellbeing after the ink dries.
Fees, Commissions, and the Transparency Gap
Don’t go looking for a line item on your statement that says “your advisor earned $X for this recommendation.” It doesn’t exist. Commissions on annuities and insurance products are typically buried deep inside prospectuses and product disclosure documents — the kind of lengthy, technical paperwork almost nobody reads.
The Bottom Line
You likely won’t know what you are being charged for an investment product unless you ask — so ask.
Working with a fee-only fiduciary advisor remains the clearest path forward. They are legally obligated to act in your best interest — not just at the time of a recommendation, but continuously and at all times. Their fees are fully disclosed and appear directly on your statement. Transparency isn’t a feature. It’s a requirement.
If this raises questions about your own retirement accounts, I’d welcome the conversation. Please feel free to reach out.
Invest well,
Barbara
March 29,2026
Source:
Judge Kills DOL Fiduciary Rule, Closing Book On Biden-Era Regulation
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