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...
Anecdotal Evidence
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...
Where’s the Infrastructure for Infrastructure Renewal?
Infrastructure renewal is long overdue in the US. We can come up with the money. But we don't currently have the institutions or the processes that will be needed...
Of Politics and the Pension-Saving ‘Butch Lewis Act’
If you empathize with retired truckers, coal miners and their unions, you'll love the American Rescue Act's $86 billion provision for patching up their underfunded pensions. Otherwise you might...
Stimulus Money and Mobius Strips
Our financial system doesn't crash because the banks accommodate the Treasury's liquidity needs and the Fed accommodates the banks' liquidity needs. It works kind of like a Mobius strip.
‘Bermuda Triangle’ Deal for Principal Financial?
Principal Financial Group, Elliott Investment Management, and Prosperity Life (majority owned by Elliott) may be headed for the same type of 'capital liberating' reinsurance deal that so many other...
The Southwest Book Trader Contemplates Retirement
George Hassan, owner of Southwest Book Trader in Durango, Colorado, told me about his confrontation with Hunter S. Thompson, and about his bouts of CRS and CSS.
Who Stormed the Capitol? Future Retirees
Everyone at the Capitol on Jan. 6 will be a retiree. To understand their anger, and its implications, I attended a Brookings Institution webcast this week on 'rage and...
Groundhog Day (Again) in D.C.
Last Tuesday was Groundhog Day. The event reminded me of the Bill Murray movie, which reminded me of Washington, D.C., where our legislators seem happy to take the same...
Why Sammons MYGA Sales Spiked in 2020
'No one predicted the pandemic, but when spreads gapped, we had an opportunity get some attractive yields. So we saw a monstrous increase in sales of fixed multi-year guaranteed...
Building a Bridge to Social Security
Middle-class people who retire before age 70 should spend 401(k) assets first and delay taking Social Security, says a leading retirement income expert. In a new research paper, she...
Making Peace with the Tax Man
I’ve adopted a few rationalizations that make it tolerable, if not exactly sweet, to send large checks to Uncle Sam each quarter.
Can Annuities Slow the Cash-Drain from 401(k)s?
The Defined Contribution Institutional Investors Association held its annual Academic Forum virtually this week. The ongoing dilemma for this organization of asset managers and others is: How to keep...
The AAA’s Panel on the SECURE Act
The American Academy of Actuaries hosted a webinar on the implications of the SECURE Act last week. As one of the panelists, I gave a presentation on the Act's...
Biden’s Retirement Policy
Biden has made strong promises about fixing Social Security, strengthening labor unions, and helping to finance a green economy. Will he be able to keep those promises? Does he...
Nationwide wants five pieces of the in-plan annuity market
Nationwide, the 10th-largest annuity issuer in the US and a provider of about 34,500 retirement plans, is launching a cluster of in-plan annuities. RIJ talks with Eric Stevenson, president...
Jim Otar’s Swan Song on Retirement Income
The famed Canadian adviser-of-advisers and author, now retired, has released his latest and last book, 'Advanced Retirement Income Planning.' It's a concise version of his magnum opus, 'Unveiling the...
