Downtick in GLB elections: LIMRA
Year-over-year, the election rate fell by one percentage point, to 86%, in the first quarter of 2011 for all types of guaranteed living benefits.
Auto-enrollees save less, Aon Hewitt study shows
A survey suggests that not all is rosy in 401(k) land. At 120 large plans, the median account balance is under $25,000, 30% of participants have loans, and 3-year...
Always Protect Your Story
Two weeks ago, when Prudential plc's CEO told analysts that he envisioned unspecified risk reductions in Jackson National's VA by end of year, he clearly didn’t realize that...
Many job-changers unsure what to do with savings: Fidelity
Separately, the Boston-based firm reported that the average 401(k) balance rose to $74,900 at the end of 1Q 2011, an all-time high since Fidelity began tracking balances in 1998.
Dollar to share power with euro and renminbi by 2025: World Bank
The growth of emerging-market firms in global investment and finance will bring "the sort of multilateral framework for regulating cross-border investment that has been derailed several times since the...
Social Security trustees issue annual report
The Social Security and Disability Insurance trust funds may be a figment of accounting, but the funds' trustees continue to calculate the changes in payroll tax rates and/or benefit...
VA Update from Ernst & Young
Leading up to the May 1 deadline for contract changes, issuers continued to tinker with every aspect of their contracts--to reduce overall risk and to align their compensation formulas...
Speculation About Jackson National
If Jackson National de-risks its variable annuity offerings, it would merely be following the example of competitors like Prudential and MetLife. Jackson's parent also has to consider Solvency II.
Lincoln Financial restructures its Insurance and Retirement Solutions business
The new design “simplifies the structure of the businesses and increases the responsibilities of the senior leaders and their respective teams,” the company said in a release.
What’s Up Down Under? SPIA Sales.
An ad campaign featuring the 1967 Buffalo Springfield classic, "For What It's Worth," and other factors are helping drive higher income annuity sales in Australia for Challenger Ltd. Their...
VA issuers dodged a bullet in 2008-2009, study shows
Had owners of deep-in-the-money variable annuity living benefits acted more "rationally" at the depth of the financial crisis, the issuers of those contracts might have suffered much more serious...
Most tax benefits of private pensions go to high earners: GAO
The largest share of 401(k) assets is clustered in big accounts, and the highest-earning participants reap the most tax benefits, says a GAO study. The CEO of ASPPA, a...
Insurance executive responds to WSJ critique of income annuities
His firm's "temporary life annuities" offer a remedy to some of the perceived shortcomings of income annuities that were mentioned in a May 1 Wall Street Journal article, says...
Seven more B-Ds to offer Allianz Retirement Pro VA
The insurer has also added to the team supporting the product, led by Corey Walther, Head of Investment Relations and Fee-Based Distribution for Allianz Life Financial Services, LLC.
Financial services M&A to accelerate in 2011: PwC US
Divestitures should drive a significant portion of deal activity in 2011, PwC said. Large banks and insurance companies that need to bolster capital levels are divesting non-core operations and...
New MetLife GMIB Offers 6%
In 2010, MetLife sold about $18.3 billion worth of variable annuities, of which about two-thirds have the GMIB option.
Prudential, Edward Jones in VA distribution deal
Prudential has created a cost structure for its top-selling VA that satisfies the broker's client-focus. At left, Merry Mosbacher of Edward Jones.
A Month of SPIAs
Starting with today’s issue, we’ll devote four weeks of cover stories and features to single premium immediate annuities. Millions of mass=affluent Americans will need them.
Solving the SPIA compensation puzzle
By re-valuing each client's annuity contract each day, New York Life enables advisors to charge a fee based on the (shrinking) cost of replacing the income stream.
Burton Malkiel Talks About Efficient Markets
In this video sponsored by Vanguard, Burton Malkiel, Princeton professor and author of "A Random Walk Down Wall Street," talks with RIJ editor Kerry Pechter about what "efficient...
