If you visited a financial adviser seeking advice about your retirement, would you want the best plan or a suitable one?

The answer seems easy. Why would you settle for anything less than the best?

On April 10, 2017, financial advisers will be legally required to act in the best interest of their clients in regards to retirement accounts — such as traditional IRAs and 401(K)s — according to regulations released by the Department of Labor six months ago in April 2016.

“I say bring it on. It’s about time,” said Wendy Bennett, senior financial adviser and portfolio manager with Bennett Associates Wealth Management. “It only brings better service to our clients in the industry as a whole.”

“But I think the fact that there was even a need to adopt such laws is disappointing,” she continued.

As a certified financial planner, Bennett is considered a fiduciary. She’s required already to act in her clients’ best interest, not only for retirement services but for all other matters.

Fiduciaries are financial advisers who must not consider their own potential profits or other personal benefits when advising a client; they must choose what they believe is the best option for their client.

Essentially the Department of Labor’s new rule will require all advisers to act as fiduciaries when offering retirement advice and hopes to eliminate conflicts of interest.

“I think it’s an enhancement for the industry,” Bennett said. “Everything you do should be first and foremost for the client.”

There is an exception, though. Firms can continue allowing commissions and revenue shares, both of which could be a conflict of interest, if they sign a best interest contract. With this contract, the adviser and the firm must share their potential conflicts of interest with the client.

“The requirement goes to the point of documentation,” Bennett said.

This requirement, however, is only in reference to retirement advice. Other financial planning is not yet subject to this type of regulation.

“I’m hoping it would be extended to all accounts though,” Bennett said.

In nonretirement matters, an adviser — who isn’t held to the fiduciary standard — is required to follow the suitability standard instead. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s suitability standard requires the advice to be a “suitable” fit for a client.

This means after advisers narrow down a client’s options, they can pick the plan that most benefits them, instead of the one that is a better fit for the client. This type of advising for retirement investment services is allowed until April.

The only financial advisers who must always base their decision on a client’s best interest is a fiduciary.

“It’s no change as far as I’m concerned,” Bennett said.

Bennett decides what’s in the best interest for her clients by considering factors such as how soon someone hopes to retire and how comfortable the client is with taking risks.

“You have to have those conversations to know what your client needs,” Bennett said.

Her ultimate goal is to find the best option for the client.

“It all starts with a plan,” she said. “And if you don’t have a plan, get a plan.”

Bennett has a billboard along Route 8 that asks people who drive by: “Have a plan?”

In regards to retirement, having a financial adviser may be more important than ever.

“Pensions have almost become a thing of the past,” Bennett said. “Instead, they (employers) are offering 401(K) plans, which put an investor in the driver’s seat.”

The best interest standard is effective April 2017, but other regulations from the more-than-1,000-page document will only become effective in 2018.