Professional financial advice is important to American consumers who are counting on 401(k) plans for their retirement savings, according to a new survey by Koshi Research on behalf of Schwab Retirement Plan Services.
Some 61 percent of 401(k) participants desire personalized investment advice in such areas as asset allocation, risk tolerance, and retirement income planning. Only 32 percent said they are confident they can make good 401(k) decisions on their own. Nearly twice as many, 61 percent, said they are confident they would make good decisions with the help of an advisor.
Explanations of 401(k) investments are more confusing to workers than the explanations of their health care benefits, according to 52 percent of survey respondents. Some 57 percent said that they would like an easier way “to figure out how to choose the right 401(k) investments.”
The survey results come as the Department of Labor, according to media reports, is preparing to propose a rule as early as October imposing a legal fiduciary duty on advisors who provide guidance on retirement accounts to consumers. NAIFA has expressed concern that such a rule could make it difficult or expensive for advisors to continue serving their lower- and middle-market IRA and 401(k) clients.
When investors are clamoring for more advice, DOL must move cautiously to avoid proposing a rule that could restrict consumer access to advisors.