Of ‘Thrillers, Spillers, and Fillers,’ Plus the Mueller Hearings
Like every decorative pot of plants, every retirement income plan needs a 'thriller, a spiller and a filler.' We also deconstruct this week's Mueller hearings.
‘APIs’ and the Future of Annuities
Catching up with the 'application programming interface' technology train is essential for annuity issuers. APIs integrate annuities into advisor platforms, reduce NIGO applications, and give clients a fluid online...
Athene offers ‘Amplify,’ its first structured index annuity
The contract's current caps on one-year credited interest range from 15.25% to 17% (for the buffer option) and from 13.5% to 15.5% (for the floor option), depending on the...
T. Rowe Price Launches Retirement Payout Vehicle
'Retirement 2020’s managed payout program is not a 5% withdrawal annually; rather, it pays 5% of the rolling 60-month NAV,” a T. Rowe Price spokesperson told RIJ. 'The participant...
Where’s the Nuance in News about Annuities?
In stories about annuities, even in the Wall Street Journal, writers seem to assume that annuities are a single product, and not five or six financial products with overlapping...
Envestnet’s Big Annuities Play
Envestnet, with the help of six major annuity issuers, has built a platform where advisors from broker-dealers, banks and RIAs can blend insurance products and investments in the same...
MMT Isn’t a Joke
Modern Monetary Theory's enemies have been trying to discredit it either by equating it with something stupid (printing money willy-nilly) or by making jokes about it. But MMT isn't...
FIAs for Retirement Income (Why Not?)
In this last article in our series on fixed indexed annuities, we consider the potential role of FIAs in providing retirees with guaranteed lifetime income. We find FIAs to...
Making a Case for the COLA-SPIA
'First optimize Social Security. If that ‘paycheck’ isn't enough, buy a SPIA. An inflation-indexed SPIA would be ideal. A COLA-SPIA may be the next best alternative,' Joe Tomlinson told...
The Derivatives that Power Index Annuities
FIA owners can pick from an array of choices as cryptic as those on a roulette table. But if they don't understand options, how can they evaluate these safe...
Part II: Allianz Life’s Marketing and Distribution Strategy
In this second part of today's cover story, we look at the long-standing distribution and marketing strategies that have kept Allianz Life atop the index annuity sales charts.
Allianz Life’s Index Annuity Winning Streak
In this second article in a four-part series on the fixed index annuity (FIA) business, we profile Allianz Life, the top issuer of FIAs in the US in 18...
The Index Annuity Story, Part I
'Zero is the hero' in fixed index annuities, which offer upside without risk of loss. In this first article of a four-part series on FIAs, presented by Retirement Income...
A New Flavor of Variable Indexed Annuity
“You can write this concept out on a cocktail napkin, and ask someone, ‘Are you comfortable with half the downside and more of the upside?’," said Thomas Layton, vice...
Honorable Mention
Generational views of retirement differ: TIAA; Stress on the Bank of Mom and Dad: Legal & General Group.
Is the SECURE Act Too Weak to Make a Difference?
Yes, there's a new 'safe harbor' for selecting an annuity provider for a 401(k) plan in legislation that appears headed for the president's signature. But there's no sign that...
Do Fiduciary Rules Work, or Do They Backfire?
'We found that broker-dealer representatives in states with common law fiduciary duties sold cheaper and better products and sell fewer variable annuities overall,' said Manisha Padi, one of the...
RIJ’s 500th Issue
Ten years ago, the “retirement income industry,” a narrow but deep niche of individuals and organizations that included much more than the annuity industry, evidently needed a news outlet...
Three Annuity Cures for Sequence Risk
New York Life and Fidelity have introduced a variable annuity with principal-protection over 10 years. Similar protection could be obtained with an indexed annuity or with a combination of...
Deregulating Retirement
Retirement bills close to passage in the House and Senate remove barriers to commerce in the 401(k) business but could also weaken safeguards that have been in place for...
