A ‘Cashback’ Pension-Building Card, from Germany
'The Vantikcard uses the 1% cashback as a kickstart into retirement savings and for customers to then save on top of the cashback,' a Vantik veteran said. Right: Vantik...
Behavioral finance
Uncertainty at Both Ends of Retirement
'Ignoring retirement age uncertainty can potentially have a significant (negative) impact on potential retirement outcomes,' writes David Blanchett of Morningstar in an award-winning research paper.
Annuities Need More Positive ‘Positioning’
'Consumer sentiment about annuities also appears to fluctuate based on the prevailing market environment,' according to a new study from CANNEX and Greenwald & Associates.
Variable annuity client behavior revealed in Ruark survey
'On a nominal basis 81% of GLWB exposure is in-the-money, whereas on an actuarial basis only 11% is in-the-money,' writes Ruark CEO Timothy Paris. (It's complicated.)
Auto-enrollees don’t ‘borrow to save,’ researchers say
In a departure from their preliminary findings of three years ago, economists found that middle-income government workers didn't increase their debt levels after being auto-enrolled in the Thrift Savings...
Retail investors reach for income when interest rates fall
A one percentage point drop in the federal funds rate is associated, over the following three years, with a five percent increase in the inflows to stock mutual funds...
Why People Should Work Longer, but Don’t
New research from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College and the National Bureau of Economic Research looks at the economic and situational factors that affect individual decisions...
‘Digital design’: A new line of defense against ERISA lawsuits?
'A reliable way to avoid potential litigation is to... develop processes for determining which digital designs and elements are most relevant for participant success,' said Shlomo Benartzi. The UCLA...
VA income deferral incentives are working: Ruark
Income commencement rates on guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits with 10-year deferral bonuses are highest in year 1 and in years 11+, with low commencement rates in between, according to...
The Bucket Brigade
Time-segmentation stands at the intersection of insurance and investments, of modern portfolio theory and asset/liability matching, and of behavioral finance and quantitative analysis.
People with pensions conserve their savings: EBRI
'Instead of spending down, a large number of retirees are continuing to accumulate assets throughout retirement,' writes Sudipto Banerjee of T. Rowe Price, who prepared the report on decumulation...
Need for annuities is strong but interest still weak: Survey
A new CANNEX/Greenwald survey shows that about four in 10 pre-retirees expect annual income under $50k in retirement; 23% expect $50k-$75k and 16% expect $75k to $99k. Under 20%...
Grasshoppers know they should act more like ants
Two-thirds of American adults consider themselves “savers,” but 54% have no net savings, according to a new survey sponsored by Northwest Mutual.
