Editorial Staff, Author at Retirement Income Journal

Published January 21, 2016

The marketplace will offer three options: a SIMPLE IRA, a payroll deduction IRA and a MyRA. Firms participating in the marketplace will have to offer at least two investment...

The Bucket

Published January 21, 2016

Brief or late-breaking items from or regarding MetLife, Voya Financial, Canadian pension funds, Protective Life and Liberty Mutual.

The Principal offers “simpler” indexed annuity

By Editorial Staff Thu, Jan 14, 2016

At a time when other indexed annuity issuers are experimenting with custom indices, this product links its performance only to the S&P 500, according to the issuer.

Asset managers will face fee pressure in 2016: Cerulli

Europe currently accounts for just 18% of the world's ETF market, compared with the U.S.'s 70% slice, according to Cerulli analyst Barbara Wall. But she believes that big change...

Now pitching for Voya: Allison ‘Mom’ Janney

In one of the commercials already on the air, an acorn-saving origami squirrel, fashioned from U.S. currency, teaches Ms. Janney about the importance of planning for retirement. The squirrel...

How “streamlining” a retirement plan pays off

A team of Wharton School professors documented the positive effects of reducing the number of investment options at a large non-profit institution's retirement plan to 39 from about 90...

“Roll-in” deal signed by Retirement Clearinghouse

By Editorial Staff Fri, Jan 8, 2016

Several years of effort by Retirement Clearinghouse (formerly RolloverSystems) to refine and popularize the automatic transfer of assets from 401k to 401k appear to be bearing fruit.

Raymond James adjusts the bar for index annuities

Broker-dealer Raymond James said it will no longer approve the sale of FIA contracts that have "monthly average and monthly cap strategies that investors often misunderstood or rarely use."...

New MetLife indexed variable annuity has shorter surrender period

“We heard feedback from advisors that their clients the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions,” said MetLife executive Elizabeth Forget in a release.

Record buyouts and buyback bode ill: TrimTabs

“The merger boom is a longer-term negative signal for U.S. equities,” said David Santschi, chief executive officer at TrimTabs.

More Boomers + fewer advisors = robo-advice?

By Editorial Staff Thu, Dec 31, 2015

There were roughly 285,000 financial advisers in 2014, a 1.9% drop from 2013, according to Cerulli Associates. The industry has lost more than 39,000 advisers, roughly 12%, since peaking...

Vanguard keeps dominating fund flows

By Editorial Staff Wed, Dec 30, 2015

Through Nov. 30, Vanguard mutual funds received more net inflows than the next nine fund companies combined, according to Cerulli Associates. (Photo of Vanguard founder Jack Bogle.)

Here come the new Boomers (sans Beatles)

Millennials have replaced Boomers as the big demo group, and Northwestern Mutual has been studying them. Just like the Boomers of the 60s and 70s, they will stay in...

Stick to a Plan? Few Retirees Do: Hearts & Wallets

'Many retirees practice a “chunk or nothing” spending pattern, consuming from 0% to 9% or more of principal annually rather than drawing down savings at sustainable rates,' according to...

American Financial sells LTCI book to focus on FIAs

HC2, the buyer, paid approximately $15 million in proceeds. AFG may also receive up to $13 million of additional proceeds from HC2 based on the release of certain statutory...

Schlichter law firm sues Insperity over high plan fees

By Editorial Staff Thu, Dec 24, 2015

The complaint alleges that “Insperity breached its fiduciary duties by causing the plan participants to pay millions of dollars in excessive recordkeeping fees to Insperity’s proprietary subsidiary, Insperity Retirement...

Retirement assets dip to $23.5 trillion in 3Q2015: ICI

IRAs, since 2007 the largest component of US retirement savings, held $7.3 trillion in assets at the end of the third quarter of 2015, down 4.8% from the previous...

Fed hike will have “no immediate impact” on insurers: A.M. Best

By Editorial Staff Wed, Dec 23, 2015

'Overall, a continued measured rise in rates is a net positive for the life/annuity industry as product spreads improve, investment portfolio yields increase, and other side benefits accrue to...

Seniors’ home equity reaches $5.76 trillion

Mortgage debt held by seniors increased slightly, to $1.46 trillion from $1.45 trillion, between the second and third quarters of this year.