NY Life, Schwab Flex Their Annuity Muscles

New York Life's new IndexFlex VA has a fixed indexed sleeve--the insurer's first index-linked offering. Charles Schwab's Genesis VA (issued by Protective Life) has lots of income optionality. The two contracts enter a struggling VA market.

What’s up with the ‘ESG’ rule: Wagner Law Group

By Wagner Law Group
'Given that the slimmer Final Rule is no longer the stranglehold on ESG investing that the original proposal had been, the Biden Administration could decide not to expend its resources changing it,' wrote Ivelisse Berio LeBeau of Wagner Law Group.

Watch now: A ‘Deep Dive on Retirement Drawdown Strategies’

By Kerry Pechter
This one-hour video of yesterday's webinar, sponsored by The American College, features retirement income specialists Joe Elsasser and James DiLellio. Some 1,800 advisers attended. Our story summarizes the webinar and provides links to video and slides.

Honorable Mention

By Editorial Staff
Life sales show new life in 2020, MIB Index shows; 'Excessive fee' lawsuit against Penn's 403(b) plan settles for $13 million; Metro-area businesses are expected to recover from Covid-related slump sooner than rural counterparts: Principal Financial.

COVER STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

January 14, 2021

Modeling Variable Annuity Owner Behavior

By Kerry Pechter
Americans own almost $900 billion worth of variable annuities with lifetime income guarantees. Uncertainty over the way policyholders and their advisers might use the contracts can keep life insurer actuaries up at night. They...
January 7, 2021

Trends RIJ Will Track in 2021

By Kerry Pechter
When will annuities be loved? After all the creative destruction of the past 10 years, what’s next for the annuity industry? Which trends will persist? Which products will flourish? We discuss the trends that...
December 17, 2020

The Catch-22 of In-Plan Annuities

By Kerry Pechter
Fixed deferred annuities may be the most promising candidates for inclusion in 401(k) plans. But in order to adapt these contracts to the defined contribution space, they must lose some of the 'illiquidity' that...