It is one year since the signing of Public Law No. 119-21, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). While the policy itself is no longer new, its impact on planning conversations is still unfolding in real time.
Over the past several months, we covered the OBBBA’s influence across multiple areas:
Collectively, these areas present an opportunity for wealth managers and fiduciaries to engage clients more proactively. This dynamic is explored in our whitepaper, Turning Tax Reform Into Client Strategy.
Where Planning is Headed in Year Two
As wealth managers and fiduciaries move from understanding to implementing the OBBBA, planning is becoming more continuous, cross-functional, and closely tied to ongoing client decision-making.
In this next phase, several themes are rising to the forefront:
Planning is now ongoing rather than periodic. Clients require more frequent reviews of estate structures, income strategies, and tax assumptions as circumstances and policy interpretations evolve.
Legacy trusts, for example, are being revisited as part of ongoing planning cycles. Once considered a “set it and forget it” structure, they now require recurring review to ensure alignment with current tax advantages and long-term transfer goals. For many families, this is creating a new wave of multi-generational planning conversations that extend well beyond traditional estate check-ins.Planning is increasingly cross-functional. Collaboration with CPAs, attorneys, trustees, philanthropic advisors, and family governance consultants is becoming more important in delivering integrated advice.
Income planning is a key example of this shift, particularly as more clients transition into retirement. Annuities and insurance are being revisited as strategic tools to help coordinate distributions, manage taxable income, and support long-term planning goals. As a result, advisors, CPAs, and estate planners will need to coordinate more closely across income, tax, and legacy planning decisions.Planning now begins earlier in the client lifecycle. Proactive estate and transfer discussions are occurring during accumulation years rather than later-stage wealth transitions.
More than four million children have been enrolled in the new individual retirement accounts under the OBBBA as of April 1, according to IRS reporting. While still in the early stages of adoption, this signals a shift in how families are approaching long-term savings and wealth transfer earlier in the wealth lifecycle. It also opens new opportunities to connect estate planning, gifting strategy, and long-term financial education.
These themes reflect a planning environment that is becoming increasingly dynamic, integrated, and proactive. As the industry moves into the second year of implementation, leading wealth management firms and trust companies will differentiate themselves by delivering a holistic planning experience that brings together wealth, tax, estate, and legacy planning, helping clients navigate complexity with clarity and confidence.
For a deeper look at how the OBBBA is reshaping planning strategies across client segments, watch our WealthManagement.com webinar, Turning Tax Reform Into Client Strategy: Unlocking Planning Opportunities under the OBBBA.
To learn how SS&C Black Diamond® Wealth Solutions can help you create, communicate, and implement effective client strategies during policy changes, request a personalized demo, call 1-800-727-0605, or email info@sscblackdiamond.com.
