The Stag Brings Back GLWBs
In an about-face on VAs, The Hartford has gone back to the GLWB, tempering its risks with a CPPI fund. The arrival of Steve Kluever from Jackson National in March reflects the new thinking.
VAs: In Search of a Winning Formula
VA issuers should take a cue from Michael Jordan, and realize that team players win more championships than individual stars, advises Bing Waldert of Cerulli Associates.
Putnam, A Work in Progress
With the announcement of a retirement research center, Putnam Investments joins the "thought-leadership" game. It's all part of CEO Bob Reynolds' campaign to rebuild a tarnished brand--and to change the way America saves.
What’s Your Competition Doing? E&Y Knows
Launched five years ago, Ernst & Young's Retirement Income Knowledge Bank has become a useful map of the competitive landscape for insurers and broker-dealers.
Featured
NYLife Targets VA Buyers with New DIA
The new multi-premium contract allows a person to build a personal pension with a series of contributions leading to lifetime income beginning at a pre-determined but flexible start date.
News
Variable annuity filings: Jan-June 2011, from Beacon Research
Here's a hyper-linked list of variable annuity prospectuses filed with the SEC from January 1 to June 30, 2011. The list was provided by Chicago-based Beacon Research, host of annuitynexus.com
Couples readier for retirement than singles: RAND
A 30% reduction in Social Security benefits would reduce the percentage of married people who are adequately prepared for retirement by 7.8 percentage points and the percentage of single people by 10.7 percentage points, two RAND economists found.
Actuary to Congress: Raise SS retirement age
Even in 1940, however, men who reached age 65 had an average life expectancy of 12.7 years—meaning that half lived longer than that. (Albus Dumbledore was nearly 116 years old when Severus Snape killed him.)
Austria urged to thwart early retirement
Though Austria’s statutory retirement ages are 65 for men and 60 for women, Austrian men retire at age 58.9 on average while women retire at age 57.5 on average.
The Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from Morningstar, Milliman, Vanguard, Allianz Life, Great-West Retirement Services and MassMutual.
Summer Cliffhangers in the VA Soap Opera
Mr. McDonnell publishes Soleares Research, a website devoted to variable annuity industry news. Here's his take on the latest trends in VA contracts.
The Journal Plays Gotcha! with EBRI
In a July 7 article, the Wall Street Journal reported that auto-enrollment in 401(k) plans has backfired, sticking some people at a lower contribution rate than they might have elected. In its desire for a man-bites-dog story, the Journal overreached.
