By Karey Wutkowski and Rachelle Younglai

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve will soon unveil a broader plan to protect consumers from abusive credit card practices than a proposal it issued last year, a Fed official told lawmakers on Thursday.

The Fed's new plan, which it hopes to finalize by December, would restrict retroactive rate increases and other fees that consumer groups and lawmakers have criticized as exorbitant.

In February, U.S. House of Representatives Democrats introduced a bill to stop arbitrary interest rate increases, penalties for consumers who pay only a portion of their balances on time, and excessive fees charged by credit card issuers.

Sandra Braunstein, director of consumer affairs at the Fed, acknowledged that a Fed proposal last June did not go far enough to help consumers. That plan would have required plain-English disclosures by credit card issuers to help consumers understand fees and rates.

"Careful measures that would restrict credit card terms or practices may, in some instances, be more effective than disclosure to prevent particular consumer injuries," Braunstein told a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing.

Chairing the hearing was Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat who wants Congress to adopt a credit card holder's bill of rights.

Some lawmakers expressed concern that the regulators' efforts could conflict with congressional efforts to revamp credit card rules.

"I'm very concerned about how we are doing this," said Rep. Mike Castle, a Republican from Delaware.