Question: Is ‘File and Suspend’ a Loophole?
Should a high-earning, two-income couple be able to claim an extra $48,000 from Social Security? Or should a law be passed to eliminate that possibility?
First quarter annuity sales rankings, from LIMRA
"Total annuity sales have been lower in the first quarter than the prior quarter eight out of the last nine years,” said Todd Giesing, senior business analyst at the...
U.S. DC plans are leakier than those abroad, study shows
In a new paper, a group of researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research point out that it’s a lot harder for plan participants in Australia, Canada, Germany,...
Share buyback trend isn’t matched by insider purchases: TrimTabs
“There’s a huge disparity between what corporate insiders are doing with shareholders’ money and what they’re doing with their own money,” said David Santschi, chief executive officer of TrimTabs.
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from Lincoln Financial, New York Life, Armstrong International, Pershing, DTCC, Northwestern Mutual and the Department of Labor.
Nationwide Life fined $8 million for pricing violations
'For more than a 15-year period, Nationwide intentionally delayed the delivery of untracked mail containing orders from customers and processed them at the next day’s prices in violation of...
A.M. Best comments on insurer stock buybacks and dividend payments
'In an environment of low interest rates and low industry premium growth, those with substantial cashflow may find they have little other choice of deploying that capital besides returning...
Managed accounts gain ground against TDFs as default investment: Cogent
'This increased usage of managed accounts among Mega plans signals a growing desire in the industry to offer a more personalized solution for plan participants,' said Linda York, vice...
LPL to pay at least $11.7 million for range of abuses
LPL, which had revenues of $1.1 billion in the first quarter of 2015, was charged with “broad supervisory failures in a number of key areas.” The broker-dealer consented to...
Wells Fargo used “pernicious” and “illegal” sales tactics: LA city attorney
The company, as part of its “Gr-eight” growth initiative, pressured its employees to sell each customer eight 'solutions,' ranging from credit card services to savings accounts to insurance products,...
Dutch gov’t to drop forced DC annuitization—but not this year
The Dutch Parliament and the pensions industry urged the state secretary to introduce legislation soon, because low interest rates are leading to low pension incomes for retiring workers as...
Retirement Clearinghouse reaches $3 billion in ‘roll-ins’
"More plan sponsors are promoting and facilitating roll-ins of accounts as a cost-effective way to improve plan performance metrics, as well as retirement outcomes for participants,” said Spencer Williams,...
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from LIMRA-LOMA, Wintergreen Advisers and Transamerica.
Annuity CEOs receive disclosure demands from Sen. Warren
Breaking News: Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, has asked chief executives at 15 major annuity issuers to furnish her with details about the incentives they offer, if...
Spring 2015 issue of The Journal of Retirement appears
This issue features articles relevant to retirement income mavens, including a piece on the way options can make a retirement more comfortable and one on the implications of offering...
DTCC enhancement will allow settlement of 1035 exchanges in one day
The asset transfers that are known as 1035 exchanges, or replacements, allow investors to move funds from one life insurance, annuity or endowment to another, without triggering an immediate...
Allianz Life adds new managed risk options on VA
Allianz’s AZL MVP DFA Multi-Strategy Fund and its RCM Dynamic Multi-Asset Plus VIT Portfolio are now available on contracts that either have no additional optional benefits or have the...
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from Hearts & Wallets LLC, TIAA-CREF, Allianz Life, and American Financial Group.
Question: Can the DOL regulate advice on IRAs?
Last week, after almost five years of deliberation, the Department of Labor asserted its right to police the financial advice that individual IRA owners are given. What gives the...
Wealth protects health—but not permanently: EBRI
Among Americans who died at or above age 85, 20.6% had no non-housing assets, according to the Employee Benefits Research Institute. Among single people who died at those ages,...
