. >> reporter: at 68 years old, ethyl sprouse says she's devastated after the loss of $400,000 from her retirement account. she blames her stockbroker who invested in high-risk stocks despite her order to play it safe. >> i felt like not only had i been betrayed by my broker. i had been betrayed by the system, the system they thought was there to protect me. >> reporter: to better protect retiree savings, the obama administration has proposed a new federal rule that sounds simple. it demands that any professional adviser handling a retirement account, a 401(k) or an ira, give advice in the best interests of that client. under the current rule, brokers can sell any investment deemed suitable but under that standard, fors say retirees lose $17 billion a year, thanks to hidden fees paid to stock brokes, or investments that make them, not the client, the most money. >> this proposed rule is the most important thing. >> reporter: tom perez, the secretary of labor, calls the best interest standard crucial. >> that adviser needs to put putt your best interest ahead of their self-interest. >> r