New USAA life income annuity offers emergency medical rider
The free rider allows contract owners to withdraw up to 30% of the present value of the contract after three years to cover an emergency expense, such as uncovered...
‘Individual mandate’ constitutional, U.S. appeals court says
“The right to be free from federal regulation is not absolute, and yields to the imperative that Congress be free to forge national solutions to national problems, no matter...
New USAA Life income annuity offers emergency medical rider
“We spent time with focus groups, and the question came back, ‘What if I have to pay for funeral expenses or some other emergency?’, USAA's Robert Schaffer said.
$10 million a week in sales for New York Life’s deferred income annuity
Low CD rates and equity volatility may be helping sales of the Guaranteed Future Income Annuity, which has collected $100 million in premia since July to become NY Life's...
Six Ways Insurers Can Fight Low Interest Rates
While forecasting a 10% decline in investment yields for life insurers due to Fed interest rate policy, Ernst & Young proposes six strategies firms can use to combat the...
Liberty Mutual’s new fixed deferred annuity offers three options
Purchasers of the product can choose among three modules—Extra access, Extra care and protection, or Extra assurance.
Annuity inflows for 2011 peaked last March–DTCC
Inflows for all annuity types processed in September declined by 19% to $6.7 billion from $8.3 billion in August, according to the Depositary Trust and Clearing Corp.
MetLife, Sun Life feel the pressure from low interest rates
MetLife's reduction of the deferral bonus on its hot-selling GMIB Max VA rider by a half-percent and news that Sun Life's strength rating is under review are symptoms of...
Mercer adopts Financial Engines’ Income+ program
In contrast to Prudential’s IncomeFlex or Hartford’s Lifetime Income, which involve purchases of insurance products prior to leaving the plan, Income+ offers an optional “out of plan” purchase of...
Gov. Perry’s tax plan, analyzed
The Tax Policy Center estimates that the Perry plan would lower federal tax liability by $995 billion in calendar year 2015 compared with current law, roughly a 27 percent...
The Plot to Kill Social Security
Is it paranoid to believe that the assault on Social Security is orchestrated? Or is Halloween getting to me?
Money trumps sports in the hearts of men, survey shows
A plurality of men (40%) preferred to deposit an extra $1,000 into the emergency fund instead of contributing to their retirement fund or spending it on themselves or a...
Academics propose solution to “annuity puzzle”
Low sales of individual income annuities "should not be viewed as an indicator of underlying preferences but rather as a consequence of institutional factors about the availability and framing...
In Netherlands, industry-wide pension plans struggle
Dutch pension officials ruled out Inflation-related increases in benefits and suggested that cuts were likely.
A Closer Look at the Wealth of the Wealthiest
This excerpt from a new Congressional Budget Office report on wealth inequality in the U.S. shows that "highly compensated workers have replaced people whose income is from property or...
“Income” Funds with High Price Tags
Unless I’ve missed something, the three Putnam Retirement Income Lifestyle Funds, as “income funds,” seem long on promises and short on delivery—particularly in light of the costs.
Record annuity sales at bank holding companies
Three-fourths (74.7%) of bank holding companies with over $10 billion in assets earned first-half annuity commissions of $1.46 billion, constituting 95.2% of total annuity commissions reported by the banking...
Retire the stereotype of the six-figure public-sector pension, say academics
About two-thirds of state and local workers leave public employment with little or no pension, according to a new research brief from Alicia Munnell and colleagues at the Center...
Vanguard adds GLWB to its private-label variable annuity
The rider is issued is by Monumental Life Insurance Company, and costs 95 basis points a year in addition to the cost of the no-load VA, which ranges from...
New TDFs from Lincoln Financial respond to market volatility
Each TDF is “designed to adjust its equity allocation in response to prevailing market conditions,” the company said in a release.
