DOL Lets Pension Risk Transfer Rules Stand – For Now

By Kerry Pechter

But the Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration still has concerns about 'insurers’ ownership structures; exposure to risky assets... and use of affiliated and offshore reinsurance.'

The Bermuda Triangle’s 1980s Roots

By Kerry Pechter

There are clear similarities between the business scheme that brought down Executive Life Insurance Co. in 1991 and the 'Bermuda Triangle' strategy that many US life/annuity companies use.

Bermuda Shorts

Nassau Financial gets $200 million from Golub Capital; AM Best affirms ratings of Aspida Group, backed by Ares Mgt; 3M swaps its $2.5bn DB pension for a MetLife group annuity; Bermuda-based Apex Group sells $1.1 bn of payment-in-kind notes to Carlyle and Goldman Sachs; Oceanview establishes reinsurer in Cayman Islands; Bermuda Triangle insurer receives ‘negative’ outlook.

MetLife and Micruity expand their DC savings-to-income IT partnership

The two firms have already worked together on connecting MetLife’s retirement income services with Fidelity’s Guaranteed Income Direct and State Street Global Advisors IncomeWise platforms.

What Recordkeepers Think about 401(k) Annuities

By Kerry Pechter

The Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA), a Washington, DC-based trade group, recently conducted a survey of recordkeepers to measure their progress toward facilitating income options in 401(k) plans.

Offshore Regulatory Arbitrage by US Insurers Explained

In a recent report, Moody's analysts showed that the accounting 'regime in Bermuda tends to allow for a higher discount rate than other jurisdictions' and this 'directly impacts the level of liabilities and therefore an insurer's level of available capital.'

Calamos Structured ETFs: An alternative to FIAs

The one-year contract issued by Calamos on May 1, 2024 provided 100% principal protection and a maximum credited interest of 9.81% at the end of the term, less a 0.69% expense ratio.

Data Connection: Bond Allocations of PE-Led and Non PE-Led Life Insurers

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