In several “Star Trek” series, an alien villain known as theBorg travels the galaxy, assimilating creatures from all walks oflife into its space-borne collective. Serious fans know that it'salmost impossible to escape the Borg and its nefarious designs. TheBorg's catchphrase, “resistance is futile,” has since beenassimilated into the lexicon.

When it comes to the matter of compliance, benefitsprofessionals across the nation must be feeling exactly like thosebrave men and women from Federation starships who had themisfortune of coming across the Borg. From the Affordable Care Actto ERISA to the EEOC to a number of other alphabet-soup agenciesand regulatory bodies, 2017 is shaping up to be the year ofcompliance.

Immediate issues

For most benefits professionals, the ACA will dominate compliance issues that are top of mind. TheACA, at least for the time being, is still the law of the land.While House Republicans tried earlier this year to repeal andreplace the ACA with the American Health Care Act (AHCA), they cameup short thanks to internal disagreements. After the initialfailure, they redoubled their efforts and passed the AmericanHealth Care Act. The AHCA will now head towards the Senate, whereits future is impossible to predict.

“No matter what you predict, it will not happen that way,” saysDavid Contorno of the Hilb Group's Lake Norman Benefits inMooresville, North Carolina. “We have a set of rules and we operatewithin those rules—that's our obligation to clients. That's ourjob. Our job is not to predict what will happen, it's to helpadvise our clients on their options and what they should be doingat the end of the day.”

In 2017, industry sources say benefits professionals should alsobe ready for the IRS. Everyone's favorite tax collection agencywill start checking to make sure employers offered health insuranceto their employees and that the packages met ACA requirements.Financial experts may have been lulled into thinking theregulations weren't going to be enforced over the past couple ofyears, but the IRS is ready to start penalizing non-compliantemployers after acting leniently during the ACA implementation.

“The IRS just released some information about how they're goingto be pursuing penalties now,” says Arthur Tacchino, chiefinnovation officer at SyncStream Solutions, an ACA reporting andcompliance company. “They've had a lot of problems with thereporting but they've worked through that and as intended allalong, they're going to start issuing penalties fornon-compliance.”

Another hot compliance topic in the benefits world is knownsimply as the “fiduciary rule”—an Obama-era law that changedERISA's definition of an “investment advice fiduciary.” Basically,financial professionals who work with retirement plans or offerfinancial advice would be treated as a fiduciary under ERISA, whichmean that they would be held to the same legal and ethicalstandards.

Some people see the need for the rule. Others think the rulewill only drive up costs. The Trump administration asked for adelay in implementation, but again, it's a scenario where financialexperts should be prepared to comply with the law.

“I don't sell a product because I know I'm getting a bonus,”says Joni Reents, president of the Reents Insurance Agency inBroomfield, Colorado, and president of the Colorado StateAssociation of Health Underwriters. “I feel like I'd lose a clientif I steered them one way when another product will work better forthem. I know there are some people who do that, but the rule doesmake our jobs a little more complicated.”

Another compliance issue facing some benefits professionalscomes courtesy of the EEOC. In 2016, the commission began requiringemployers to report more demographic data in order to fight paydiscrimination and identify industries where the issue runsrampant. That means there will be more to report in a company'sEmployer Information Report, or EEO-1 statement. The rule mainlyaffects employers with 100 or more employers.

“It's very hard to know how to plan for the future, because wehave no idea what's going to change,” Reents says. “It's just kindof in a state of limbo. We stick with what we've been doing—ACA isthe law of the land—but you're also supposed to plan for down theroad, and that's a little difficult to do right now.”

And the compliance issues don't end there. Reents' clientroster, for example, is dominated by employers of less than 100.She says she often gets questions about COBRA from clients. The taxcode is also likely to change in some way. And no one knows whatwill come from Trump's next executive orders.

Simply put, there's a lot to keep up with.

Moving forward

In order to survive and thrive, financial professionals have toemploy several strategies for their industry sources say. Thereprobably hasn't been a more critical time to keep up with thecompliance news and changes in the industry, even if they'rehappening fast. Mainstream media sources are all over issues suchas ACA, but keep tabs on other sources such as Healthcare.gov, theDepartment of Labor, and NAHU for the latest information.

“If I'm an advisor, I'm taking the proactive route and educatingmyself on what's happening so when the bill gets finalized, youknow what's in it,” Tacchino says. “There are lots of newsorganizations and professionals covering it. For brokers andagents, the more they can do for employers, the more it enhancesthe value they offer.”

Another important strategy is to make sure to documentcompliance. Plenty of companies out there provide ACA reportingprograms, and many industry professionals recommend using them.Some even say that it should become a cost of doing business.

Changing course

In the final analysis, ACA compliance and othercompliance-related issues may be the biggest factor contributing toa fundamental shift in the way brokers and agents perform theirjobs. The days of simply selling products and going over optionswith clients on spreadsheets is over.

Now, benefits professionals are more likely seen as advisers orconsultants.

“I think the whole thing has gone into a consultative periodwith brokers,” says Vic Troncalli of Troncalli Insurance Solutionsin Villa Rica, Georgia. “I have a brokerage, I have every knownlicense—I work to pay for licenses—but I've always worked it like aconsultant. You sell a product, but when you're dealing withfinancial products or insurance, you find a solution for the riskfactor and then you fix it.”

“Some brokers and agents have evolved with the role voluntarilyand shifted their model,” Tacchino says. “And there are some beingdragged into that role. It's more important now more than ever.It's going to be chaotic for employers to know what they need todo. And as an advisor, you're going to be more important thanever.”