Anecdotal Evidence
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...
Don’t Fight Inflation with Unemployment
If our current inflationary trend is caused by kinks in the global supply chain, does it make sense to raise interest rates, knock asset prices down, and put people...
The Trust Gap between Advisers and Black Women
A new study by The American College's Center for Economic Empowerment and Equality shows that Black women don't trust financial advisers. But to learn the origins of that mistrust,...
Inflation, Debt, Debt, Interest Rates, Taxes: They Can’t All Be Low
If you read the papers, watch the news, or scroll through sites, you'd get the impression that all four horsemen of the financial apocalypse will attack us at once....
2011-2020 FIA Returns Were Modest, Data Suggests
FIAs returned an average of 3.23% per calendar year from 2011 to 2020 (inclusive), my review of data from LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute showed. FIA industry assets grew 180%...
Let’s Get This (Income) Party Started!
I watched a webinar this week on 'Key Trends in Defined Contribution Plans,' hosted by the Georgetown Center for Retirement Initiatives. Regarding demand for income options in 401k plans,...
How to Make US Retirement Policy Work Better
"Wealth After Work," a new book edited by William Gale, Mark Iwry and David John (Brookings Institution Press, 2021) gathers together the many retirement-related reforms that they and other...
The Bermuda Triangle was Busy this Summer
On August 9, a new Bermuda-based reinsurer created by Brookfield Asset Management (owner of that upscale mall in lower Manhattan) bought American National Life for $5.1 billion and Global...
Not All Annuity Issuers Are Alike
When choosing an annuity from a life insurer, advisers and clients need to understand that life/annuity companies have different business models and ownership structures, and that these differences matter....
RIJ Talks ‘Bermuda Triangle’ on Chuck Jaffe’s Money Life Show
On Tuesday, August 10, I was a guest on Chuck Jaffe's Money Life Show, where Jaffe interviewed me about the 'Bermuda Triangle' trend and its implications for life insurers...
Your Dream Cabin in the Rockies
What's involved in owning a rustic retirement cabin in Colorado? Time, wealth, health, gregariousness, and a passion for the natural world. And an ability to forego cellphones and Wi-Fi...
Is a Life/Annuity Crisis Brewing?
Observers of the "Bermuda Triangle" phenomenon worry about the quantity and the quality of the assets supporting reinsured annuities in regulatory havens like Bermuda, Vermont, Arizona and elsewhere.
‘Double Down or Get Out’
If you haven't done so already, t's time to consider how the low interest rate environment has transformed the life/annuity business over the past ten years. And to assess...
You’ve heard of RILAs, Now Meet FILAs
F&G, a leading issuer of fixed indexed annuities (FIAs), has launched an FIA that gives contract owners the option to reach for higher gains without losing principal protection. They...
Ten Rules-of-Thumb for Choosing Indices in Annuities
Here are some heuristics, provided by experts at Milliman, Annexus and elsewhere, for selecting and blending the increasingly complex indices found inside today's top-selling index-linked annuities.
Why Retirement Bills are a Bipartisan Slam-Dunk in Congress
Raising the contributions limits in order to encourage saving by the under-saved seems as useful as raising the height of a basketball net to encourage the participation of shorter...
The Trade-Offs of a Big Spend on Infrastructure
Finding money for Biden's infrastructure plan will be easier than finding the human and physical resources to do it, and easier than agreeing on what to give up to...
The Fallen Angels of ‘Nomadland’
Many elderly poor in America have always been poor. But the elderly poor in 'Nomadland' seem relatively new to the game. We compare the people in the film to...