Quote of the Week
“The story of book yields on investable assets, as with invested assets, has been one of decline. Gross book yields for the life insurance industry decreased 18 bps in...
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from Financial Engines, Prudential, Guardian Insurance and BNY Mellon.
As DB wanes in the UK, Brits continue to mull retirement reform
“We do not want to set down a law that says ‘there are three ways you can do pension, and here’s what they are,’” said Steve Webb, Britain's pensions...
Dept. of ‘Say It Ain’t So’
Forbes reporter Ted Siedle alleges that asset managers are using the financial crisis to gain greater control over the billions in troubled public pensions—in this case, Rhode Island’s.
Jackson National to block 1035 transfers to VAs with optional guarantees
“The company is approaching the upper range for calendar year 2013 for total premium from variable annuities (VAs) that offer optional guaranteed benefits,” said a Jackson National release.
The Four-Sided Chess Game
Today, insurers are invoking fiduciary duty to justify the offering of lifetime income products in 401(k) plans. If the fiduciary standard were applied to the management of money in...
The ‘Floor-Leverage’ Model
An easy income recipe from Financial Engines: Put 15% of your savings in a triple- leveraged stock ETF and the rest in something safe, like a TIPS ladder.
Russian government to freeze DC plan assets in 2014
"The money will be retained by the state pension fund, and... is supposed to become a sort of an air bag that will be activated in case an emergency...
Meet AllianceBernstein’s Z-class retirement shares for DC plans
AllianceBernstein's new Z shares will be offered without 12b-1 fees or sub transfer agency fees and there is no minimum initial investment requirement.
Dynamic Withdrawal Strategies Made Easy
Research from Morningstar's David M. Blanchett introduces two equations for implementing an efficient dynamic withdrawal strategy based on different expected time periods, portfolio equity allocations, the likelihood of achieving...
Allianz Life Launches FIA for Broker-Dealer Channel
The Core Income 7's Core Income Benefit rider is automatically included at an additional cost of 1.05% of the contract’s accumulation value, the company said in a release.
Securian Offers “MyPath” VA Income Riders
"MyPath is less a statement on interest rates than a reflection of our desire to allow advisers to dial-in what each client needs," said Dan Kruse, second vice president...
A Roundup of RIIA’s Meeting in Texas
Michael Finke of Texas Tech, John Salter of Evensky & Katz Wealth Management, Larry Cohen of Strategic Business Insights and others presented at the Retirement Income Industry Association's annual...
FIA investor barred from New York insurance
Philip A. Falcone of Harbinger Capital Management may not exercise control over a New York-licensed insurance company for seven years, by order of the New York Superintendent of Financial...
Dealing with Auto-Enrollment’s Dilution Effect
By increasing enrollment, auto-enrollment inevitably increases the number of employees eligible for a matching contribution, if any, and in such cases can drive up employer costs. Something’s got to...
New York Life DIA wins innovation award from RIJ and RIIA
At the RIIA annual conference in Austin, Texas, this week, awards were given to New York Life, Jackson National, JP Morgan Chase, Prudential, Shlomo Benartzi, Wade Pfau and Michael...
What do multinational companies think about retirement? Brussels bureaucrats want to know
So far, five giant plan sponsors, including Shell, have joined a group that will advise PensionsEurope, an association of pension associations in 21 European countries.
The global retirement puzzle remains unsolved: Mercer
In its annual report on global pensions, Mercer notes that the world is embracing the DC model but still hasn’t figured out how to help participants convert the assets...
A Conspiracy against Public Pensions?
Either paranoid or perceptive, public pension administrators say they are being sandbagged by a pervasive, persistent stealth effort to convert their DB plans to DC and gain greater control...
