In its lengthy filing with the Federal Communications Commission opposing the merger, Sprint said the combination would raise prices for consumers, presumably a good thing for a smaller competitor who could follow suit with impunity.

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Employees are trained for up to four weeks before they hit the sales floor and, once they do, those employees are paid a combination of salary and bonuses to avoid an all-commission sales floor where their financial incentive might disrupt the customer experience.

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Planners are generally grouped according to how they are compensated: by commission from the products they sell, by flat fee or by a combination.

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And what we've done is we've created a fiscal commission of Democrats and Republicans to come up with what would be the best combination to help stabilize Social Security for not just this generation, but the next generation.

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It is also an opportunity for the IFA to explain the option of paying by a fee, as well as the option of paying by commission - ultimately added to the cost of any financial product bought through the adviser - or a combination of the two.

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