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.

The Point of Indexing (in Annuities)

By Kerry Pechter Fri, Jun 4, 2021

Every June, RIJ focuses on indexed annuities. Last year, we studied options in indexed annuities. This year we consider the indexes themselves, especially 'hybrid' and 'volatility-controlled' indexes. Bryan Anderson,...

Published June 4, 2021

The Irony of Inflation Forecasting (Research Roundup)

By Kerry Pechter Thu, May 27, 2021

In this month's roundup, we learn that CEOs pay little attention to inflation. We also find out why retirees keep saving, why "centaurs" pick stocks so well, which financial...

Published May 27, 2021

Why Retirement Bills are a Bipartisan Slam-Dunk in Congress

By Kerry Pechter

Raising the contributions limits in order to encourage saving by the under-saved seems as useful as raising the height of a basketball net to encourage the participation of shorter...

Published May 27, 2021

If the DOL Investigates You…

By Kerry Pechter Thu, May 20, 2021

Here are five FAQs about Department of Labor investigations of retirement plan advisers, and answers from attorneys at the prominent ERISA law firm Faegre Drinker. (Photo: Labor Secretary Marty...

Published May 20, 2021

Merton and Muralidhar’s Retirement Income Vision

By Kerry Pechter Thu, May 13, 2021

In this video, Nobel laureate Robert Merton (in photo) and Arun Muralidhar talk about SeLFIES, their solution to the retirement income challenge.

Published May 13, 2021

Get a Downside Buffer with Your Variable Annuity

By Kerry Pechter

Delaware Life executives Tom Seitz and Dale Uthoff explain their new variable annuity, Accelerator Prime, with RIJ. Like hot-selling registered index-linked annuities, it offers a downside "buffer."

Published May 13, 2021

The Trade-Offs of a Big Spend on Infrastructure

By Kerry Pechter

Finding money for Biden's infrastructure plan will be easier than finding the human and physical resources to do it, and easier than agreeing on what to give up to...

Published May 13, 2021

Did QLACs Get a Last-Minute Haircut?

By Kerry Pechter Thu, May 6, 2021

The Ways and Means Committee considered raising the limit on pre-tax contributions to a deferred income annuity to $200,000, but then, apparently for budget reasons, let the current limit...

Published May 6, 2021

Secure 2.0: A Booster Shot for Qualified Savings Industry

By Kerry Pechter

The proposed bill would allow ETFs in variable annuities and remove the 25% limit on the share of IRA money that can be used to buy a Qualified Longevity...

Published May 6, 2021

Research Roundup

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Apr 29, 2021

We summarize four recent papers: 'Portfolios for Long-Term Investors,' 'What is the Value of Annuities?,' 'Public Economics and Inequality: Uncovering Our Social Nature,' and 'Financial and Total Wealth Inequality...

Published April 29, 2021

The Fallen Angels of ‘Nomadland’

By Kerry Pechter Wed, Apr 28, 2021

Many elderly poor in America have always been poor. But the elderly poor in 'Nomadland' seem relatively new to the game. We compare the people in the film to...

Published April 29, 2021

Where’s the Infrastructure for Infrastructure Renewal?

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Apr 22, 2021

Infrastructure renewal is long overdue in the US. We can come up with the money. But we don't currently have the institutions or the processes that will be needed...

Published April 22, 2021

Big drop in net income for publicly traded life/annuity firms in 2020

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Apr 15, 2021

A $4.7 billion realized investment loss on derivatives for Prudential Financial was the main driver of the drop in its net income, according to a new report from ratings...

Published April 15, 2021

A Chip Off the Old Rock?

By Kerry Pechter

Bloomberg reported this week that Prudential is considering selling its retirement plan recordkeeping business. Prudential didn't confirm the report, but several industry insiders did. Low interest rates, high costs...

Published April 15, 2021

Falling discount rates hurt DB pensions at insurers: AM Best

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Apr 8, 2021

Only 184 insurance companies rated by AM Best had defined benefit plans at year-end 2019, compared with 257 in 2016, according to a new report. Aggregated insurance company unfunded...

Published April 8, 2021

Raising Revenue–and Consciousness

By Kerry Pechter

With his Made in America Tax Plan, announced Wednesday, President Biden would raise corporate tax rates and try to stop transfer pricing worldwide. He wants to raise revenue and...

Published April 8, 2021

What’s Cooking at ‘Income Lab’?

By Kerry Pechter

At their software start-up, Income Lab, three former Jackson National Life executives want to help advisers help clients optimize retirement income. They enter a financial planning field dominated...

Published April 8, 2021

Security Benefit Life’s Secret Sauce

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Apr 1, 2021

Joe Wittrock, CIO at Security Benefit Life, explains how the firm's investments outperform. Eldridge Industries, run by ex-Guggenheim president Todd Boehly, owns SBL, Billboard magazine (right, with Billie Eilish...

Published April 1, 2021

Research Roundup

By Kerry Pechter Thu, Mar 25, 2021

Here's new research on tax avoidance among the very rich, the logic that millionaires use when buying equities, considerations for plan sponsors when estimating income from 401(k) balances, and...

Published March 25, 2021

Of Politics and the Pension-Saving ‘Butch Lewis Act’

By Kerry Pechter

If you empathize with retired truckers, coal miners and their unions, you'll love the American Rescue Act's $86 billion provision for patching up their underfunded pensions. Otherwise you might...

Published March 25, 2021

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