A 55-year-old couple paying a $100,000 income could withdraw 3.78% of $150,000 ($5,670) at age 65 under the free living benefit and 3.78% of $200,000 ($7,560) under the option...
Why high returns leave Dutch DB plans unhappy
'As the high returns are largely due to dropped interest rates, the rosy figures will in part disappear as soon as interest rates rise again,' said a Dutch pension...
SECURE Act still stuck in Washington gridlock
With the impeachment hearings and the looming 2020 election taking up much of legislators' bandwidth, the SECURE Act continues to be going nowhere fast in the Senate.
Fidelity adds USAA SPIA to its annuity platform
'Annuities, when designed and used appropriately, can help investors address key financial needs,' a Fidelity spokesman told RIJ.
Rates would be negative without government debt and deficits
'Had real interest rates not gone down over the last half century, savings would have exceeded investment in OECD countries by between 9 and 14 percentage points of GDP,'...
‘Performance-enhanced’ bond funds? Evidently.
Many actively managed bond funds are riskier than advertised, and often provide higher returns than their stated portfolio holdings would suggest, according to research by business school professors at...
Five Questions to Ask about an Annuity Issuer
'I recommend that an adviser develop his or her own criteria and put together a template, similar to an RFP, with questions to have answered when considering an annuity...
Honorable Mention
Great American amends fee-based annuity contracts; Security Benefit issues two new index annuities; New mortality tables for pension plans issued by SOA; Fidelity offers in-plan income planning tools; State...
MassMutual’s vision for Open MEPs (if they become reality)
MassMutual, a manager of multiple-employer retirement plans for affiliated companies since 1989, hopes to manage Open MEPs. Legislation on Open MEPs is stalled in the U.S. Senate.
‘Greatest Economy in American History’ still needs Fed help
'Leverage among corporations is historically high. We’re monitoring that and taking appropriate steps,' Fed chair Jerome H. Powell told reporters Wednesday after announcing a third quarter-point hike in the...
Instead of ‘life span,’ think ‘health span’
A conference will be held to kick off the National Academy of Medicine's 'Healthy Longevity Global Grand Challenge' at AARP headquarters in Washington, D.C. on November 6-8, 2019.
Scalia will help draft new fiduciary rule (after helping kill the old one)
'Mr. Scalia first defended the brokerage and insurance industry’s right to engage in conflicts of interest that harm retirement savers. Now, he seems eager to engage in his own...
Kindur, a young robo-advice firm, is growing up
'Our core value is to be human in a world that often just sees numbers,' said Kindur founder and CEO Rhian Horgan. The firm launched its SmartDraw income distribution...
The life of RILAs is improving
Through the first half of 2019, sales of RILAs totaled $7.7 billion, up 63% over the same period in 2018, and accounted for nearly 16% of industry-wide variable annuity...
Global aging named as world’s most powerful trend
Investors will access major trends--aging, climate change, artificial intelligence--through private markets more than public markets, a survey of institutional investors showed.
Honorable Mention
Fidelity launches a new international bond index fund; Nassau buys Foresters; distribution expands for T. Rowe Price Model Portfolios.
Most advisory firms not qualified to rely on their own research: Cerulli
The research firm identifies the internal resources that advisory firms need to be what Cerulli calls 'optimal non-users' of model portfolios.
Joint venture eyes distressed annuity books
A private equity firm and a pair of tech experts from Apollo Global and Aflac have up to $500 million to buy or reinsure risk-laden annuity books from life...
Honorable Mention
Lincoln launches two new fee-based annuities for RIAs; Broadridge to buy Fi360; SEC forms Asset Management Advisory Committee; Schwab to offer Pacific Life fee-based investment-only variable annuity; Mesirow, Financial...
France reforms retirement
The new defined contribution plans are expected to compete with traditional French savings products such as life insurance, bank savings accounts, and pensions. Asset managers Natixis, BNP Paribas and...