In the words of NSYNC, it’s officially “Bye, Bye, Bye” to the Department of Labor’s Retirement Security Rule.

On Tuesday, a Texas federal judge vacated the Biden-era rule that would have expanded the definition of “fiduciary” to cover practically all professionals giving advice to retirement plan participants, including one-time advice about IRA rollovers and commission-based annuity recommendations. The decision, pending the anticipated dismissal of a parallel lawsuit in Texas, returns the roughly $14 trillion DC plan industry to the longstanding “five-part test” for determining a professional’s fiduciary standing, a determination that comes with strict limits on self-dealing activity and requires the application of exemptions for the collection of compensation.

So for now, a years-long battle for insurance companies, broker-dealers and other financial firms comes to an end, though advisors will still be governed under existing frameworks, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Best Interest and state-based rules adopted in recent years by insurance commissioners.

“It’s not going to change anything for the vast majority of advisors/brokers,” says Knut Rostad, president of the non-profit Institute for the Fiduciary Standard. “It’s going to allow them to do what they have been doing, by and large, without concerns of legal liability, or breaching a true fiduciary standard.”

Cause for Industry Group’s Celebration

If enacted, critics contended, the rule would have sharply limited practices like selling commission-based products. Now that it’s gone the way of the dodo, industry groups are rejoicing:

• “The Department’s decision to end this case and the Court’s order vacating the fiduciary rulemaking package closes the chapter on the Biden administration’s legally flawed fiduciary regulation,” the American Council of Life Insurers, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Finseca, Insured Retirement Institute and National Association for Fixed Annuities said in a joint statement.
• “The court’s ruling confirms the Biden rule conflicts with current law and exceeded the department’s authority,” they added.

But, others worry about the lack of protection for retirement savers. Rostad said that if the DOL introduces a new rule (as it’s expected to do later this year) it may even “make matters worse,” given the White House’s eagerness to introduce potentially risky investments into 401(k)s. When asked whether saying goodbye to the Retirement Security Rule means a potential increase in advisors not acting in the best interest of their clients, he added: “The message that is being delivered is being very well understood by the firms that have the greatest interest in what is allowable in retirement accounts.” That message? “Never mind any serious consideration of fiduciary safeguards.”

Missing the Mainstream. Sometimes, a push like the one from the Biden administration is enough to generate public awareness about a topic that greatly impacts everyday investors but that isn’t top of mind, such as the fiduciary standard. But that’s likely not the case here. Rostad says he doesn’t think the latest attempt to crack down on any potential conflicts of interest in retirement advice was understood by the public as much as it was during previous attempts under the Obama administration.

More than 11,000 Americans will turn 65 every day this year, reaching the age when they can claim Medicare benefits.

This “silver tsunami” makes the need to decode the program’s complexity more urgent than ever, said Kimberly Lankford, a longtime AARP contributor and reporter at The Wall Street Journal. The technical details are key, but perhaps the most important lesson is a broader one: each clients’ Medicare claiming decision is only the start. Getting the most out of the program is a constant effort that doesn’t end at age 65.

“When I first started writing on personal finance more than 25 years ago, my own retirement felt very far away,” said Lankford, who recently released a new book called Medicare 101. “Now I’m squarely in my 50s. I’ve seen firsthand how confusion about Medicare has affected my close friends and family.”

Big Costs and Complexity

Medicare has always been complicated, Lankford said, but recent changes to the program have increased pressure on beneficiaries. After years of expansion driven by their features and all-in-one simplicity, many Medicare Advantage plans (sold by private insurance providers and approved by Medicare) are trimming popular extras like dental, vision and over-the-counter allowances. Traditional plans, likewise, are recalibrating costs and benefits, but they remain an important choice for individuals who prioritize broad provider flexibility and fewer network constraints.

“One big change stemmed from the Inflation Reduction Act,” Lankford told Retirement Upside. “It altered Part D to improve prescription drug coverage and set an out-of-pocket maximum, which is a really great deal for some beneficiaries. But there are also nuances and questions about cost-sharing for those who don’t have expensive prescriptions.”

Even for beneficiaries with chronic conditions, if their particular drug isn’t on Part D’s schedule, which itself changes every year, then its costs aren’t subject to the maximum. It’s yet another reason that revisiting previous decisions during each year’s open enrollment is critical. One more sobering but important truth is that, even when clients make sound claiming decisions, they still face significant costs:

• Average projected lifetime premiums for traditional Medicare options are $688,996 for a healthy 65-year-old couple retiring in 2026, according to the health spending analytics company Health View Services.
• When deductibles, copays, hearing, vision and dental are added, total costs increase to $955,411 for Medicare Parts B and D and supplemental insurance.

Don’t Be Passive. People may feel daunted by Medicare, Lankford concluded, but information is a source of empowerment. “Go to the website and type in your info, your drugs, your location,” she advised. “The government has good, free prediction tools that a lot of people don’t use. It’s a great place to get started, and the states all have resources as well. Get to know what plans are available in your area, and be mindful of special state-by-state rules.”

Hear that sound? The tax man cometh (on Wednesday, April 15).

It’s easy to talk taxes in March and April, but achieving significant “tax alpha” requires a multi-year strategic plan. Over time, the management of income and the right asset location decisions (Roth vs. traditional) can help clients hold on to tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional wealth. That can spell the difference between a smooth retirement and a stressful one, and advisors who prove themselves to be tax experts can stand out in today’s competitive wealth management marketplace.

“Retirement tax planning should not be treated as a once-a-year filing exercise,” said Trevor Gunter, founder and lead advisor at Four Pines Financial in Atlanta. “The best results usually come from looking out over several years and deciding when to recognize income on purpose, rather than waiting until the tax bill is forced on you.”

Year-Round Savvy Moves

One of Gunter’s go-to tax strategies is to help clients organize qualified charitable distributions:

• If someone is age 70.5 or older, they can give directly from an IRA to a qualified charity.
• For tax year 2025, the QCD limit is $108,000, and for 2026, it rises to $111,000.

“When done correctly, that distribution is excluded from taxable income, and it can also satisfy part or all of a required minimum distribution,” Gunter said. Another strategy is making the most of the low-income years after retirement but before Social Security and RMDs begin. “Those years can be a once-in-a-lifetime planning window,” Gunter said. “It may be a good time to do partial Roth conversions or realize long-term capital gains while staying in a relatively low tax bracket. In some cases, capital gains may even be taxed at 0%.” Once Social Security, RMDs, and other income sources begin stacking up, tax planning usually gets tighter.

As for savvy moves specific to tax season, Joon Um, advisor at Secure Tax and Accounting, said backward-looking IRA or spousal IRA contributions can make sense. “We also talk a lot about RMD planning, since those withdrawals can increase taxable income more than people expect,” Um observed. “The evergreen advice is having different tax buckets. That flexibility can make a big difference when managing taxes in retirement.”

Location, Location, Location. “I always seem to speak with people in high-tax states who contribute to both a Roth 401(k) and a traditional 401(k),” said Cameron Willcox, an enrolled agent at Willcox Wealth Management. “As a rule of thumb, this is great, but if you live in New York or California, it’s likely that contributing most of that to [the] traditional [account] makes more sense. Especially if you [move to] any other state in retirement, you’ll be happy to pay the taxes in that state, and the tax savings now will be meaningful.”