Fixing the 401(k)s’ Leakage Problem
“I think is an opportunity for a win-win-win,” says Lew Minsky, executive director of DCIIA. “If you keep more people invested for retirement, all of the players in...
Lew Minsky Talks about ‘Auto-Portability’
Lew Minsky is executive director of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association, an organization of retirement plan providers and asset managers. We asked him about the automatic plan-to-plan transfer...
The Tailwinds in Vanguard’s Sails
At $64.8 billion, net flows into Vanguard funds in the first half of 2014 were greater than the flows of the next five fund families combined, according to Morningstar’s...
Goin’ to Kansas City
In search of answers to big economic questions, I'll attend the 12th International Post-Keynesian Conference at the University of Missouri next week, before heading to Williamsburg, Va., for the...
A ‘Babysitter’ for Immature Rollovers
GuidedChoice, the 401(k) participant advice provider, and InspiraFS, a recordkeeper specializing in IRAs, have joined forces to turn automatic rollovers from a problem into a profit center.
Replacing Those Disputed Replacement Rates
What was so important about a tiny column of numbers, missing from Table V.C7 of the 2014 Social Security Trustees Report?
DTCC Publishes first-half 2014 Annuity Flow Report
The report analyzed almost $104 billion in annuity transactions involving 120 insurance companies (44 parent/holding companies), 583 distributors, and 3,463 annuity products.
Nominal SPIAs Beat Nominal DIAs—But Perhaps Not for Long
“DIAs may represent a more palatable hedge against longevity risk for retirees than traditional annuities, because they are cheaper and therefore provide more liquidity to retirees,” writes Morningstar's David...
Anatomy of a Success: Elite Access
Jackson National Life's Elite Access variable annuity zoomed from zero to a $1 billion in quarterly sales in less than two years. Using the craze for 'liquid alts' as...
Consider the Alternatives!
Liquid alts are the hottest topic in mutual funds. Some have suggested that they can solve sequence risk and temper longevity risk in retirement portfolios. To demystify this topic,...
Man Bites Vanguard
A whistleblower's suit accusing Vanguard of transfer pricing and tax evasion reminded me of the time I asked, 'What does Vanguard do with its own money?'
What’s Your ZIP Code’s Annuity Potential?
IAP, a small market research firm, analyzes and compares two giant databases to discover whether a particular ZIP code in the U.S. is saturated with annuity sales, underdeveloped, competitive...
RIJ’s Annual Variable Annuity Review
Every July, RIJ assesses the VA market. This year, we look at the “investment only” or “IO” VA, the structured VA, and the VAs with novel income options. All...
My Dad’s Reverse Mortgage, Part II
I was staring into the smirking face of Moral Hazard itself. The stain of it was smeared on me too, because I was wishfully thinking that the condo might...
Thirteen Life and Annuity Specialists Rated ‘Successful’ by Conning
“In our analysis we see a greater focus on annuities among the successful insurers than we had previously,” said Steve Webersen, director of research at Conning.
Life Just Got Easier for Qualified DIAs
The new Treasury regulation on "longevity insurance" does more than promote late-life annuities. By removing an RMD barrier, it makes retirement income planning easier for middle-class people whose savings...
What’s In Their Wallets?
Vanguard inventoried the wealth and income of affluent older Americans and found that a surprising number of them are still receiving defined benefit pensions. Income-wise, Vanguard identified eight types...
Getting the Exclusion Ratio (Without Annuitizing)
AXA and, most recently, Lincoln Financial, are marketing variable annuities that combine investment flexibility with variable income options that (for non-qualified contracts) allow regular tax-favored distributions without annuitization.
Zombie Politics
America is paralyzed by short-sighted, long-lasting tax and entitlement policies that deceased politicians locked us into. In his new book, "Dead Men Ruling," economist Eugene Steuerle of the Urban...
