The year-end review with the plan sponsor – an end-of-season tradition as old as the rock-hard fruitcake or the antics at the company holiday party.

But can that predictable and often cursory meeting between a retirement advisor and the plan sponsor turn into a business opportunity, especially as the regulatory climate becomes just as heated as the ongoing fiscal cliff discussions?

Bob Kaplan, national retirement consultant for ING U.S., suggests that the year-end review is indeed a great opportunity for skilled advisors to both prove their worth – especially as plan sponsors continue to "keep their options open" for better offers in a post-fee-disclosure landscape – and for advisors themselves to possibly find some options for business referrals and prospects to boost their own business in 2013.