The ‘Retirement Income Consortium’ is Born
Eight financial giants formed the Retirement Income Consortium to promote income solutions in 401(k) plans and 'develop a vetted due diligence framework' for 'selection and monitoring' of those solutions.
Private Equity in the Life/Annuity Biz
Experts Tim Zawacki of S&P Global Market Intelligence, Rosemarie Mirabella of AM Best, and Jason Kehrberg of PolySystems presented data on “Private Equity and the Life Insurance Industry” at LIMRA's 2022 Life Insurance Conference in Tampa this week.
It’s Inflation or Recession: Larry Summers
In this research roundup, economist Larry Summers predicts a recession next year. We also review new papers on annuitization habits of TIAA participants, 'tontines' for Chile, shortages of caregivers for the elderly, and the effects of demographics on markets.
Featured
Nominal SPIAs Beat Nominal DIAs—But Perhaps Not for Long
“DIAs may represent a more palatable hedge against longevity risk for retirees than traditional annuities, because they are cheaper and therefore provide more liquidity to retirees,” writes Morningstar's David Blanchett in a Journal of Financial Planning article.
‘Changing of the Guard’ Continues in VA Sales
MetLife is selling one-third of what it was two years ago. Prudential is selling half of what it did in the first two quarters of 2012. The biggest gainers since then include Transamerica, SunAmerica, and Lincoln. (This piece was written by Morningstar's annuity product manager.)
News
This is your brain on money
Public television will turn its inquisitive light on the topic of behavioral finance next October 16.
M&A speculation drove life/annuity stocks in 2Q2014
A.M. Best attributed much of the quarterly gains for L/A stocks to the merger fever that followed Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co.'s $5.7 billion bid for Protective Life.
Debt service can crowd out savings: LIMRA
Advisors with clients in their 40s need to know how heavy a debt load they are carrying, LIMRA said in a release.
Deloitte publishes annual DC benchmarking survey
There continues to be limited interest in in-plan annuities, with 6% of plans offering this option in 2013, up from 4% in 2012. Ten percent of plan sponsors indicated they are looking into adding an accumulation annuity to their current plan.
