Brief or late-breaking items from Vanguard, Prudential Financial, Nationwide Financial, LPL, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, the American Bar Association and AARP.
In Hartford, a Public IRA Proposal
RIJ traveled to Hartford on Tuesday for a hearing on a bill that would require most Connecticut employers to offer a retirement plan and would create a default public...
Two Advisers, Two Strong Opinions of FIAs
If annuities in general incite controversy, FIAs are easily the most polarizing annuities. Just listen to what Howard Kaplan, an LPL adviser in the New York area, and Harry...
JPMorgan proposes “dynamic decumulation model”
"Greater lifetime income, through Social Security, pensions and/or lifetime annuities, allows individuals to increase both their withdrawal rates and equity allocations," says the adviser to individuals, institutions and financial...
ASPPA criticizes two Obama budget proposals
As if he relishes poking Brian Graff in the eye, President Obama included two elements in his 2015 budget proposal that especially irk the CEO and executive director of...
Public savings plan proposed for private sector workers in CT
Following the lead of groups in California and a few other states, labor organizations in Connecticut are backing legislation to create a public, IRA-based retirement plan for workers in...
Strengthen Social Security now, AAA urges
In a new white paper, the American Academy of Actuaries has reiterated its recommendation that the Social Security program be put on a permanently solid financial footing, but did...
AARP points out income-related variations in Medicare premiums
The standard Medicare Part B premium is $1,258.80 a year and covers about 25% percent of Part B program costs, according to a new AARP Fact Sheet. People with...
RetirePreneur: Laura Varas
'To me, retirement is the most interesting area of finance because it’s about how we live our lives,' says Hearts & Wallets consultant Laura Varas. 'We should give people...
Our 401(k) System, in Black and White
Bloomberg and Strategic Insights gave two opposing views of defined contribution plans in separate reports in recent weeks. Bloomberg reporters called DC plan sponsors stingy. Strategic Insights, in a...
FIAs Come In From the Cold–Sort Of
In this first of a series of RIJ articles on the evolution of fixed indexed annuities, you’ll hear from people at three broker-dealers: One who embraces them, one who...
Journal of Retirement Publishes Winter 2014 Issue
An article by Steve Vernon of the Stanford Center on Longevity lists seven objections to annuities and offers counter-arguments to each. The issue also includes articles on tontines, on...
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from Prudential Annuities, Woodbine Associates, the National Institute on Retirement Security, USAA and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
U.S. ranks 19th of 20 in Natixis Global Retirement Index
For overall retirement security, the U.S. remains behind the majority of countries in Western Europe and Canada, and ahead only of Israel on the list of the top 20...
Trade groups give one cheer for Maryland retirement proposal
"We will not allow the process to be derailed by other agendas; if a proposal does not meet our criteria, we will do everything we can to oppose and...
How to improve public pensions: SoA panel
In April 2013, the Society of Actuaries commissioned the SOA Blue Ribbon Panel to address burning questions about public pension funding. The results of the Panel’s work were published...
LIMRA: Annuity sales strongest in 11 years
Indexed annuity sales set a new quarterly record of $11.9 billion, an increase of $1.7 billion from the third quarter. For 2013, indexed annuity sales totaled $39.3 billion, up...
Prudential’s New Edge: Dynamic Rate-Setting
To reduce interest rate risk exposure, Prudential has adopted a protocol that allows it to change roll-up rates and payout rates on its living benefit riders within a month,...
Prudential’s New Edge: Dynamic Rate-Setting
"If manufacturers can be more dynamic in reacting to changing conditions they don't have to set prices as conservatively. That should benefit investors," said a competitor about Prudential's ability...
Must-Read Income Research of 2013
Many outstanding research papers on retirement income were published in 2013. The ten described here contain ideas that annuity product developers, annuity marketers and financial advisers can apply to...