Title: Fiduciary duty and advisor pay
Source: https://ethosbenefits.com/topics/fiduciary-duty
Publisher: Ethos Benefits
Summary: What being a health plan fiduciary means for an employer, and how benefits brokers and consultants are paid and must disclose it.

1.  [Home](https://ethosbenefits.com/)
2.  [Learn](https://ethosbenefits.com/learn)
3.  Fiduciary duty and advisor pay

# Fiduciary duty and advisor pay. Who works for whom.

What being a health plan fiduciary means for an employer, and how benefits brokers and consultants are paid and must disclose it.

Start with the main guide

## [The health plan fiduciary committee](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/health-plan-fiduciary-committee)

A health plan fiduciary committee is a group an employer formally appoints to make and record decisions about its group health plan, such as choosing vendors, reviewing fees and deciding appeals. ERISA does not require one, but it judges fiduciaries by their process, and a committee with a charter and minutes is how an employer shows that process.

[Read the guide](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/health-plan-fiduciary-committee)

In this guide

1.  What is a health plan fiduciary committee?
2.  How is it different from a retirement plan committee?
3.  Why are employers building them now?
4.  Who belongs on the committee?
5.  How do you set one up?
6.  What should the committee review each quarter?
7.  What are the common mistakes?

## Guides 3

-   [**Broker compensation disclosure** Fiduciary duty and advisor pay _Guide_](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/broker-compensation-disclosure)
-   [**Broker of record letter** Fiduciary duty and advisor pay _Guide_](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/broker-of-record-letter)
-   [**Voluntary benefits and fiduciary duty** Fiduciary duty and advisor pay _Guide_](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/voluntary-benefits-fiduciary-duty)

## Insights 5

-   [Nov 12
    2026 **Choosing an employee benefits broker** Fiduciary duty and advisor pay _Insight_](https://ethosbenefits.com/insights/choosing-an-employee-benefits-broker)
-   [Sep 28
    2026 **The benefits dirty dozen** Fiduciary duty and advisor pay _Insight_](https://ethosbenefits.com/insights/benefits-dirty-dozen)
-   [Jul 30
    2026 **The Department of Labor audit** Fiduciary duty and advisor pay _Insight_](https://ethosbenefits.com/insights/department-of-labor-audit)
-   [May 6
    2025 **A CFO's fiduciary playbook** Fiduciary duty and advisor pay _Insight_](https://ethosbenefits.com/insights/cfo-fiduciary-playbook)
-   [Mar 20
    2024 **ERISA health plan litigation** Fiduciary duty and advisor pay _Insight_](https://ethosbenefits.com/insights/erisa-health-plan-litigation)

[How Ethos Benefits helps **Fiduciary governance**](https://ethosbenefits.com/services/fiduciary-governance) [See it in practice **Case study: Axiom Healthcare Services**](https://ethosbenefits.com/results/axiom-healthcare)

Other topics [ERISA and plan documents](https://ethosbenefits.com/topics/erisa) [ACA reporting](https://ethosbenefits.com/topics/aca-reporting) [Compliance rules and deadlines](https://ethosbenefits.com/topics/compliance) [Plan financing](https://ethosbenefits.com/topics/plan-financing) [Stop-loss insurance](https://ethosbenefits.com/topics/stop-loss) [Pharmacy and PBMs](https://ethosbenefits.com/topics/pharmacy) [Benefits strategy and administration](https://ethosbenefits.com/topics/benefits-strategy) [A to Z glossary](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/glossary)

## See what your plan is really costing you.

A Strategic Analysis starts with your plan documents and your broker agreement, then shows you what your plan costs, where the risk sits, and what a committee would decide with the full picture.

[Request a Strategic Analysis](https://ethosbenefits.com/strategic-analysis) [Call (407) 803-4710](tel:+14078034710)