RIJ’s Next Phase
In the near future, I plan to turn the RIJ website into a free library of information on retirement income planning. Before then, I hope to revise 'Annuities for...
Anecdotal Evidence
You Can’t Eat Your Own Head
The US faces an unsustainable fiscal imbalance of about $250 trillion over eternity, says an econometrics think tank. For several reasons, the analysis doesn't worry me.
The Bear That Ate My Grandfather
When I saw on Bloomberg that the stock market had fallen into "bear market territory," I paid a little attention, but not much. I know the worst that a...
A New Kind of RIJ is on the Way
Over the next few months, I plan to redesign the site. My goal will be to make the material that I’ve written and collected since April 2009 more accessible...
Annuities are Sorely Misunderstood
About 97% of all annuities sold are deferred annuities. I think of them more as tax-deferred, principal-protected investments than as personal pensions in retirement. Most people don't know the difference.
Private Equity and Accounting Firms
"I’d like to call this the ‘private equity invasion.’ With rock and roll, it was the British invasion. You know, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. This is going...
Social Security’s Political Problems
As evidenced by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's objections to a recent Social Security bill, even the moderates in Washington can't agree on reforms.
Why RIJ Obsesses over the ‘Bermuda Triangle’
Private equity is no longer a sideshow in the annuity industry. Its involvement is now the main event. But we know too little about private equity’s growing role in...
Bloomberg’s Ideas for Overhauling 401(k)s
Bloomberg editors call the existing 401(k) program 'dysfunctional' and a 'morass.' Their critique is valid, but their suggestions are not quite new.
To Make the Economy Better, Let’s Not Make It Worse
Raising interest rates, driving down asset prices, and sparking layoffs can't be the best way to neutralize a petroleum-driven inflation. But higher rates could make real returns on bonds...
White Paper Warns of PE-Led Life Insurers
The co-director of the Center for Economic Policy Research claims that conflicts of interest, risky investments, and regulatory arbitrage accompany the incursion of private equity firms into the life/annuity...
Who Runs EBSA? It Matters
Ali Khawar, the acting head of the DOL's Employee Benefit Security Administration, spoke at an American Academy of Actuaries webinar. To learn about EBSA’s initiatives, we tuned in.
Consumer Groups Urge DOL to Tighten “Reg BI”
Consumer advocacy groups are urging the Department of Labor to return to its 2016 stance--when it required annuity sellers to pledge to act solely in their clients' best interest...
‘I Can’t Believe This’
Ukraine had been touted as a cheap place for Americans to retire. That's one way to look at it. Of the ~11 million retirees in Ukraine (as of mid-2021),...
Will Buy-Out Firms Buy Out Medicare?
'Direct Contracting,' as the experiment is called, could put private equity (PE) firms between doctors and patients.
Confessions of an MMT Groupie
Systems of paper money or “fiat money” have always been, and remain, as problematic as they are powerful. I can’t speak for MMT economists, but I don’t think that...
Energize a SPIA with Equities: Cannex
A new Cannex white paper shows how a single-premium immediate annuity (SPIA) combined with a strong equity allocation can make savings last longer in retirement and still provide a...
Why Asset Managers Keep Buying Annuity Issuers
What is concerning are not so much the practices of pioneers of this business. More concerning are the 'me-too' players--smaller johnny-come-lately asset managers who want some of those billions...
The ‘Catch-22’ of Social Security
Don't let the pundits confuse you into trading your retirement parachute for paper. We need Social Security AND employer-sponsored retirement savings plans.
‘Retirement Bonds’ could increase income, lower risk: EDHEC
Similar to the SeLFIES proposed by Robert Merton and Arun Muralidhar, the Retirement Bonds proposed by Lionel Martellini and Shahyar Safaee of France's EDHEC Risk Institute would guarantee safe...
