Editorial Staff, Author at Retirement Income Journal

Published March 2, 2017

Of those surveyed by Havas Worldwide, about half want their financial life 'bundled within a single organization' and over half of early tech adopters "want to pay for everything...

Indexed annuity sales hurt by fiduciary rule: LIMRA SRI

By Editorial Staff Thu, Feb 23, 2017

'Until there is some clarity on the DOL fiduciary rule, the Institute expects sales to continue to drop in 2017,' said Todd Giesing, assistant research director of the LIMRA...

Trump rally takes unexpected direction: Morningstar

In January, investors put $30.6 billion into U.S. equity passive funds, down from $50.8 billion in December 2016, the report showed. On the active side, investors pulled $20.8 billion...

Perhaps with less to spend, retired Southerners spend less

Among 65-to-74-year-olds, Northeastern households had the highest median annual spending ($41,860) and Southern households the lowest ($32,836), according to new research by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Steep drop in fintech investment: KPMG

Globally, fintech funding fell to $25 billion in 2016 from $47 billion in 2015. Nonetheless, 2016 was the third strongest year for fintech investment and second highest year for...

Kill Bills: Republicans attack ‘safe harbor’ for state auto-IRAs plans

By Editorial Staff Thu, Feb 16, 2017

The move was applauded by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and the Investment Company Institute. It was condemned by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement...

Where HR meets social media, Blackstone will be there

Blackstone's private equity funds have purchased human resource administration platform Aon Hewitt from Aon plc for $4.8 billion, at a time when HR is moving to the 'cloud' and...

Lincoln Financial adds fee-based options to VAs and FIAs

In addition to creating a fee-based version of the Lincoln Core Capital indexed annuity, Lincoln has added fee-based versions of its Covered Choice 5 and Covered Choice 7 indexed...

Voya launches ‘Journey’ indexed annuity

Returns are pegged to either the J.P. Morgan Meridian Index and the Citi Dynamic Asset Selector 5 Excess Return Index, Voya said in a release this week.

Wealth, like cream, keeps rising to the top

The investable assets of households with between $1 million and $10 million grew by $809 billion last year, to a total of $17.8 trillion, according to a study of...

Allianz Life issues no-commission fixed indexed annuity with income riders

By Editorial Staff Thu, Feb 9, 2017

Retirement Foundation ADV offers two income options. One starts with a higher age-dependent payout percentage that is fixed for the life of the contract. The other has a lower...

Who buys income annuities, and why most people don’t: EBRI

“Those with inadequate assets might value a regular stream of income very highly and those with the most might expect to live longer and can also afford it...

Average 401(k) balances up 33% since 4Q2011: Fidelity

“More than one-in-four Fidelity 401(k) savers increased their savings rate in 2016—an all-time high—and the number of people with a 401(k) loan dropped to its lowest point in seven...

MassMutual offers customized pension yield curves to DB clients

MassMutual issued a white paper on its yield curve methodology and compares it with other yield curves available on the market. The white paper is available to plan sponsors...

Merrill Lynch launches hybrid digital-human advice platform

Through the new platform, investors at any asset level can access strategies “built and managed by the Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM) Chief Investment Office, not by algorithms,"...

Honorable Mention

Brief or late-breaking items from LifeYield, Northwestern Mutual and Envestnet | Retirement Solutions, Lincoln Financial, AICPA, and Mercer.

Published February 2, 2017

New issue of Journal of Retirement appears

By Editorial Staff Thu, Feb 2, 2017

The new issue contains articles by Wade Pfau, Joe Tomlinson and Steve Vernon; John Turner, Andrew Biggs, and other eminent retirement researchers.

Target Date Funds: What’s Under the Hood?

Published February 2, 2017

TDF investment returns, on average, fall short of their benchmark indices but perform about the same as all other mutual funds, say the authors of a new brief from...

‘Focus on issues in your direct control,’ A.M. Best urges annuity issuers