Kerry Pechter, Author at Retirement Income Journal

Articles by Author: Kerry Pechter

Editor and Publisher of Retirement Income Journal, Kerry Pechter is author of Annuities for Dummies (Wiley, 2008) and former editor of the SourceMedia publication, Annuity Market News/Retirement Income Reporter. He has been an annuity columnist for Senior Market Advisor, and his feature articles have appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Men's Health and many other national publications. From 1997 to 2006, he was a writer and editor supporting the Retirement Resource Center at The Vanguard Group. In 2009, he traveled to Taiwan and reported on the retirement industry there as a fellow of the National Press Foundation. A graduate of Kenyon College and recipient of a fellowship in creative writing at Indiana University, Pechter resides in Emmaus, PA, with his wife Lisa, the director of marketing and publicity for the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University.

Can Annuities Slow the Cash-Drain from 401(k)s?

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Nov 19, 2020

The Defined Contribution Institutional Investors Association held its annual Academic Forum virtually this week. The ongoing dilemma for this organization of asset managers and others is: How to keep...

Published November 19, 2020

The AAA’s Panel on the SECURE Act

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Nov 12, 2020

The American Academy of Actuaries hosted a webinar on the implications of the SECURE Act last week. As one of the panelists, I gave a presentation on the Act's...

Published November 12, 2020

CEO Chris Blunt of F&G Explains It All

By Kerry Pechter Wed, Nov 11, 2020

In only about three years, Fidelity & Guaranty Life has leveraged the asset management skills of strategic partner Blackstone to become a major fixed indexed annuity provider. Blunt, F&G's...

Published November 12, 2020

A Closer Look at CLOs

By Kerry Pechter Fri, Nov 6, 2020

New research into collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), which are helping reshape the investment policies of the life/annuity industry, explores whether they have the same vulnerabilities as the 'CDOs' in...

Published November 6, 2020

Biden’s Retirement Policy

By Kerry Pechter

Biden has made strong promises about fixing Social Security, strengthening labor unions, and helping to finance a green economy. Will he be able to keep those promises? Does he...

Published November 6, 2020

The ‘Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2020’

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Oct 29, 2020

The House has introduced a sequel to last year's SECURE Act. Once again, legislators have listened to the retirement industry and tried to remove what the industry considers obstacles...

Published October 29, 2020

Now Divesting: AIG, Equitable and Great American

By Kerry Pechter

De-risky business: AIG will spin off its Life & Retirement division, Venerable Holdings will reinsure $12bn worth of Equitable's pre-2010 variable annuities with living benefits, and Commonwealth Annuity (part...

Published October 29, 2020

Nationwide wants five pieces of the in-plan annuity market

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Oct 22, 2020

Nationwide, the 10th-largest annuity issuer in the US and a provider of about 34,500 retirement plans, is launching a cluster of in-plan annuities. RIJ talks with Eric Stevenson, president...

Published October 22, 2020

Drama in Des Moines

By Kerry Pechter Wed, Oct 21, 2020

Rejecting a takeover bid by Athene and MassMutual, fixed index annuity issuer American Equity will partner with Brookfield Asset Management. The deal releases up to $350m in capital for...

Published October 22, 2020

Honorable Mention

By Kerry Pechter Sun, Oct 11, 2020

Protective’s new fee-based VA available at RetireOne; U.S. could save trillions in health care costs in coming decades: McKinsey; Vanguard adds new manager to its International Value Fund

Published October 15, 2020

A Look at Biden’s Social Security Plan

By Kerry Pechter Sat, Oct 10, 2020

There's more to Biden's proposal than raising payroll taxes on >$400k earners. The wealthy would see their benefits go up more in dollars, while the poor would see theirs...

Published October 15, 2020

Jim Otar’s Swan Song on Retirement Income

By Kerry Pechter Wed, Oct 7, 2020

The famed Canadian adviser-of-advisers and author, now retired, has released his latest and last book, 'Advanced Retirement Income Planning.' It's a concise version of his magnum opus, 'Unveiling the...

Published October 8, 2020

A Closer Look at CLOs (and Other U.S. Credit)

By Kerry Pechter Tue, Oct 6, 2020

Bond mavens, check this out. A new SEC report describes how most of the $54-trillion dollar U.S. credit market survived last spring's financial crisis. It covers securitized 'leveraged loans,'...

Published October 8, 2020

Why American Equity’s Share Price Spiked Today

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Oct 1, 2020

With new management and a new business model, American Equity Investment Life hopes to climb back onto the FIA sales leaderboard. It's using the strategy that RIJ dubbed 'The...

Published October 1, 2020

She’s Got Advice for Life Insurers

By Kerry Pechter

'Insurers can't remain wedded to product sales, which are becoming commoditized in a future that trends toward financial advice,' says industry veteran Michelle Richter, who just launched Fiduciary Insurance...

Published October 1, 2020

Searching for Yield? Here’s Where to Look

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Sep 24, 2020

Bond gurus Anne Mathias of Vanguard and Rick Rieder of BlackRock spoke at the Morningstar Investment Conference last week. Emerging markets, real estate debt, and asset-backed securities are...

Published September 24, 2020

Long Guns as Leading Indicators

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Sep 17, 2020

In past election periods, when I’ve canvassed door-to-door, some people have told me they won’t bother to vote because politicians are all alike. But they aren’t.

Published September 17, 2020

The Sacrificial Payroll Tax

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Aug 27, 2020

Idle talk about suspending the payroll tax is making 'blue' Senators blue. We get answers from Social Security expert Eugene Steuerle of the Urban Institute.

Published August 27, 2020

An Income-Generating ‘Collar’

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Aug 20, 2020

Using a 'protective net-credit collar,' the Nationwide Risk-Managed Income ETF has distributed monthly income at an annual rate of 7.88% in 2020, while appreciating 10%. Is there a catch?

Published August 20, 2020

Two Cheers for DOL’s Lifetime Income Disclosure

By Kerry Pechter

The Department of Labor's 'interim final rule' on disclosure of estimated lifetime income from 401(k) balances is welcome, but it lacks a critical feature. Public comments might improve it.

Published August 20, 2020

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