Pacific Life and Principal Add Payout Options to 401(k)s

The three 401(k) annuities described here differ in their pre-retirement crediting mechanisms, their flexibility for the owners, and in the scope of their guarantees. (This article includes current map of 401(k) income option universe, from DCIIA.)

Research Roundup

Enjoy these summaries of six recent research papers that illuminate issues in retirement today. We include work by leading retirement researchers at Harvard Law School, schools of business at Stanford and Duke Universities, and other major academic institutions.
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U.S. spends $3.4 trillion in 11 months

Federal outlays through August totaled $3.4 trillion, up 2% from the same period last year. Receipts in the first 11 months totaled $2.2 trillion, up $126 billion from the same period last year. (Federal fiscal year ends Sept. 30, 2012.)

The Bucket

Brief or late-breaking items from New York Life, Phoenix Companies, Strategic Insight, BlackRock, DST Systems Inc., AXA Equitable Life, and Principal Financial.

Fed pledges action until economy shows gains

The Fed also acknowledged its limits. “Monetary policy, particularly in the current circumstances, cannot cure all economic ills,” the Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, said at a news conference.