Managed-Payout Funds vs. Annuities: Who Wins?
Managed payout funds may fail if the client lives too long. Life annuities overcome that problem, but lack sufficient flexibility. 'The best results can be obtained by combining SPIAs...
Eyewitness to History in the UK
Our guest columnist, who spends part of each year in Britain, offers this exclusive analysis of the implications of the announcements about retirement regulation and annuities by Britain's top...
Do Annuities Reduce Bequest Values?
Your clients can reduce their risk of running out of money without sacrificing bequest values if they purchase an annuity with part of their savings and aggressively invest the...
Unmet Expectations
Here’s one observer's somewhat disappointed reaction to the special section on Retirement Income Planning in the December 2010 issue of the Journal of Financial Planning.
Maine Squeeze
By merging its pension plan with Social Security, Maine could offer its public employees a more equitable deal. But can the state’s budget handle the potentially higher costs?
The 4% Withdrawal Rule—Maybe Planners Have Been Wrong
The complexity of the typical retiree's cash flows makes it nearly impossible for a planner to apply a simple rule of thumb like the 4% strategy, even if he...
Short Life Expectancy for U.K.’s Annuity ‘Mandate’
Britain’s new ‘Lib-Con’ coalition aims to stop forcing retirees to annuitize their savings. It could be a step toward U.S./U.K. policy convergence.
Turning Home Equity into Lifetime Income
A financial planner compares and contrasts three ways to create monthly income for life from a typical reverse mortgage.
The Search for a Safe Withdrawal Rate
In this article, I highlight work by Michael Kitces, who looks at stock market valuation levels as guides to setting retirement withdrawal strategies.
Thoughts on the Future of Retirement Income Products
This fly-fisherman, financial advisor and former insurance company executive surveys the retirement income product landscape from his lake house in central Maine.
