Fixed indexed annuities will “increase their dominant position in the individual U.S. annuity market” and “approach variable annuity sales levels over the next five years,” predicted actuary Tim Pfeifer at the Retirement Industry Conference in Arlington, Va., last week.

In the much-anticipated revision of its 2010 proposal to curb conflicted sales to retirement account owners, the Department of Labor asserts that rollover IRAs are within its jurisdiction. It also calls on IRA advisers to sign a legally-binding “best interest contract” if they want to receive commissions.

In March 1799. not far from where I live today, an auctioneer named John Fries led a protest against the first direct tax on American homeowners. Alexander Hamilton wanted him hanged as an example of the consequences of defying the central government.

Every other year for the past two decades, the Society of Actuaries has sponsored a 'speculative' fiction-writing contest for actuaries. The winners of this year's contest were announced yesterday.