Times can get tough for people. With the onset of Hurricane Harvey having decimated parts of the Gulf Coast and Hurricane Irma following its destructive lead, we are reminded that at any point we may find ourselves in hardship.

There has been much upheaval in the retirement world as of late and it centers around the new fiduciary rule. The New Fiduciary Rule means that many investment professionals that weren't previously considered fiduciaries will now have to take on that role. So, why is that such a bad thing? Well, it's not per se, but the implications of how this may change the way the investors and their companies function may leave them frustrated and tentative towards some future business. But before we get too bent out of shape, let's break it down and see what we're truly looking at.

For many years, plan sponsors have wrestled with the decision to offer loans to their plan participants. Some consider them to be a benefit and even promote them as a legal way to use tax free money while participating in the plan. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 87% of plan participants can take a loan against their retirement account. Of those employees with access to take a loan, about one-fifth borrow against the retirement account. Come retirement, what are the effects of loans taken from pension funds on an employee's account?

Whether it’s your car, your air conditioning or your own health, virtually everything you depend on in life needs a periodic assessment. What’s working, what needs repair? A company’s retirement plan is no different. And the evaluation is no less complex than the one your primary care physician might use.

Over the last 30 years, there's been an incredible array of advancements in technology that have impacted various parts of our lives. While not all of them were amazing, many of them inherently improved our quality of life and some allowed us to catapult forward into a world of instantly accessible information on a scale never witnessed. As computer science has seeped into almost every facet of life, there's been an increase in connectivity, productivity, and efficiency.

How much of your life happens online—75 percent? 90? With cell phones in our pockets and tablets next to our beds, we’re all leading electronic lives, with the expectation that when we want or need information, we’ll find it almost immediately. And retirement plan information is no different.

Every plan sponsor has a fiduciary responsibility to account for all funds in a retirement plan—including uncashed distribution checks. Do you know what your responsibilities are when a check goes uncashed or a plan participant falls off the grid? Is there a point at which you are no longer liable?

Although it's certainly true that not enough Americans are saving for retirement, it's also true that the many millions who are saving do so through an employer-sponsored defined contribution 401(k) plan. And as you may well know, 401(k) plans tend to generate a considerable amount of financial activity. The mobility of today's workforce means employees often request distributions when they move from one employer to another. Rollovers are common, too, as are hardship withdrawals.

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, also known as ERISA, helps protect those saving for retirement by mandating certain fiduciary responsibilities of those working in the retirement plan industry. In April 2017, the rules governing those responsibilities will change. Will you be ready?