Four Income Planning Tools
Here are brief reviews of four noteworthy but not-widely-known retirement income planning software tools, provided by the publisher of Virtual Office News and the T3 Newsletter. Mr. Bruckenstein is also a CFP.
About those Embedded Derivatives
The variable annuity with a lifetime income benefit--sometimes known as an exotic put option or an embedded derivative--was a product that has come back to bite many of the companies that sold it. Was this product ever the best solution for the Boomer retirement challenge?
Don’t Go Overboard with TIPS
"TIPS can play an important role in most retirement portfolios," writes this Tokyo-based economics professor. "... Like other assets, "TIPS have risks and do not eliminate the need for broad diversification." This article first appeared in Advisor Perspectives.
Running Lapse around Variable Annuities
As the living benefits of variable annuities became more valuable during the financial crisis, contract owners astutely held on to them, according to a presentation by Ruark Consulting at a recent Society of Actuaries meeting in Chicago.
Featured
Canada’s Annuity Issuers Protect their Turf
The Bank of Montreal will halt new sales of its BMO Lifetime Cash Flow, a retirement income product that Canadian insurers said worked a bit too much like a variable annuity. The Canadian finance minister agreed.
News
Consumer Reports rates 13 brokerage services
A trusted source for information on a wide array of products, Consumer Reports decided to investigate online and full-service brokerage services by polling their readers and sending mystery shoppers to brokerages. Here's how 13 services measured up.
Could “Obamacare” encourage earlier retirement?
A review of Towers Watson retirement data shows that the presence of company-subsidized health insurance for retirees encourages people to retire before age 65. Researchers wonder if elements of "Obamacare"--the PPACA--could have a similar effect.
Federal Reserve favors more predictability on rates
But “a number of members noted their dissatisfaction with the Committee's current approach for communicating its views regarding the appropriate path for monetary policy,” said the minutes of the Dec. 13 FOMC meeting, published this week.
Uncle Sam publishes annual financial report
For those who like diving into economic statistics, even the 16-page summary of the 2011 Financial Report of the U.S. Government provides an ample pool of data.
The Bucket
Brief and late-breaking items from LPL Financial, the Insured Retirement Institute, MassMutual, Great-West Retirement Services, Securian and Allianz Life.
Searching for the Right Decumulation Tool
This month we'll be dedicating a fair amount of space to retirement income planning software tools.
