You can’t afford to ignore what happens in Washington

By Jennifer Fox

As a financial security professional today, you no longer just manage portfolios, protection plans and retirement income strategies; you also manage policy risk. The decisions coming out of Washington on reconciliation, fiduciary standards and worker classification now shape how you can serve clients almost as much as markets do.

Over the first quarter of 2026, Finseca has had a front-row seat to this evolving landscape through ongoing engagement with lawmakers and regulators. That vantage point offers a clear message for practitioners: You do not need to be a policy expert, but you cannot afford to ignore what happens in the nation’s capital.

Start with Congress

There is talk of a second (and even third) reconciliation bill, a process that allows certain budget-related measures to be passed by a simple majority in both chambers. Although the current margins in the House make any sweeping package challenging, reconciliation remains a vehicle through which tax changes affecting our profession could reemerge quickly.

At the same time, the House Financial Services Committee has advanced the Invest Act, a bipartisan bill that, among other provisions, would permit collective investment trusts in 403(b) plans, create a senior investor task force and enable default electronic delivery of disclosures. Those are not abstract tweaks; they could reshape how you communicate with clients, structure retirement plans and protect older investors if momentum carries the bill through the Senate to the president’s desk.

Regulations impact advisors and clients

On the regulatory front, a central principle should guide every rulemaking conversation: Regulation should expand, not restrict, consumers’ access to quality financial advice. Yet many financial security professionals now operate under overlapping and sometimes conflicting regimes, from state securities and insurance laws to the Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation Best Interest, National Association of Insurance Commissioners Model Regulation 275 and Department of Labor rules.

When those frameworks are not harmonized, well-intentioned rules can become a maze of duplicative requirements that drive up compliance costs and ultimately discourage professionals from serving the families who need them most. For practitioners, that means staying alert to efforts to streamline and align these standards, because they directly affect how and whether you can show up for clients.

Nowhere is that tension more visible than in the DOL’s fiduciary rule saga. In March, the DOL officially vacated its latest fiduciary rule, what many called “Fiduciary 3.0.” This removed the expanded interpretation of fiduciary advice that would have swept most rollover conversations into a fiduciary framework.

The decision, which followed litigation brought by Finseca and industry partners, reinstated the long-standing 1975 standard and preserved commission-based models for many retirement-related insurance products. For clients, that means continued access to professional advice and lifetime income solutions; for professionals, it is a reminder that coordinated advocacy can change outcomes.

The DOL has also advanced a separate worker classification proposal that, for now, takes a more balanced view of independent contractor status, emphasizing control over one’s work and the opportunity for profit or loss. That is welcome news for the many financial security professionals who rely on 1099 or statutory employee arrangements. How this rule is finalized will influence the viability of the entrepreneurial practice models that define much of our profession.

The midterms loom over everything

Finally, looming over all of this are the 2026 midterm elections. With a meaningful number of House members retiring and several Senate races rated as toss-ups, we are likely to see significant turnover in the policymakers who will shape our operating environment in 2027 and beyond.

That is both a risk and an opportunity. The risk is that new members arrive with a limited understanding of how our profession helps families achieve financial security. The opportunity is for professionals, individually and through Finseca, to build those relationships early, before the next wave of tax, retirement or regulatory debates lands on their desks.

In an environment where one rule can determine whether millions of Americans keep or lose access to advice, advocacy is no longer optional; it is part of every financial security professional’s job description. If you want to future-proof your practice, carve out time to stay informed, plug into organizations that are in the arena every day, and build a habit of engaging your elected officials before decisions are made for you and your clients.