Editorial Staff, Author at Retirement Income Journal

Published March 17, 2016

Brief or late-breaking items from MassMutual, Voya, 401k Averages Book, Nationwide, PSCA, Conning and Morningstar.

Americans like Robo-Advice: Survey by Capital One Investing

By Editorial Staff Thu, Mar 10, 2016

The survey also showed that Americans would rather lose weight or travel than save for retirement.

New business for Prudential Retirement

Prudential's three new plan sponsors—CCC Group, AccentCare, Inc., and LJT & Associates, Inc.—have combined plan assets of $66 million and about 18,000 participants.

Jackson National posts record pre-tax operating income

The indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the United Kingdom’s Prudential plc reported sales and deposits of $27.9 billion in 2015.

Cerulli sees convergence of technology and goal-based planning

"Clearing away the clutter of multiple accounts has allowed sponsor firms to build better tools for goals-based planning," said a Cerulli analyst.

More private equity for new indexed annuity firm

Kuvare Holdings intends to “deliver diversified annuities, life insurance, and supplemental products to the middle-income and mass-affluent consumer segments through its acquisition-led growth strategy.”

ETFs suffer outflows for first time in over two years

By Editorial Staff Thu, Mar 3, 2016

'ETFs bled $1.8 billion in January flows. Combined with poor market returns, that led to a 4.7% drop in assets. The vehicle still maintained more than $2 trillion in...

Group annuity risk transfer sales top $14 billion in 2015: LIMRA

In the fourth quarter, group annuity risk transfer sales were $5.8 billion or almost 19% lower than the previous year. Total assets of buy-out products increased 10%, to $90...

MassMutual pays $165 million for MetLife’s captive agent force and retail operation

On a combined basis, MSI and MassMutual’s existing broker-dealer, MML Investors Services, LLC, will be among the nation’s largest insurance company-owned broker-dealers.

Job anemia puts interest rate hikes into doubt: TrimTabs

“The labor market is not nearly as robust as the conventional wisdom believes,” said David Santschi, chief executive officer of TrimTabs.

Honorable Mention

Brief or late-breaking items from Vanguard, Morningstar, PIMCO, Allianz Life and Retirement Clearinghouse.

Mobile Imperative Drives TIAA Re-Branding

By Editorial Staff Thu, Feb 25, 2016

“We approached the design challenge as if the only interface we had was the mobile phone, and then we worked back to design the other channels,” said Ed Moslander,...

Genworth’s “Medically Underwritten” SPIA Offers Higher Payouts

People ages 70 to 95 who are about to enter care can receive monthly payments that are 20% to 50% higher than payments from a comparable conventional life-contingent single...

‘Stretch match’ is the key to higher DC savings: LIMRA

LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute noted that a 100% match of the first 3% of savings tends to promote savings rates of 6%, but a 50% match of the first...

Indexed annuities post new sales records in 2015

Total annuity sales improved for the third consecutive quarter, driven by strong fixed annuity results. In fourth quarter, annuity sales were $61.4 billion, 5% higher than the prior year....

Jackson and Morningstar partner on tax demonstration tool

This tool is available for wholesalers and advisors, and supported by Jackson’s Advanced Strategies team, a group of senior portfolio strategists and retirement and wealth strategy consultants who study...

Here’s how the Jetsons might save for retirement

"FutureJet," a video game produced by MassMutual that aims to enliven the retirement savings message, is available as a free download from the Apple App Store and the Google...

Decline in tax withholdings bodes ill for economy: TrimTabs

Withholdings fell 0.2% year-over-year in real terms in the past four weeks ended Thursday, February 18, TrimTabs found. This decline compares with growth of 2.0% year-over-year in December and...