Investments + Annuities = Healthy Retirement

By Kerry Pechter
Many advisers still treat annuities and investments as apples and oranges--that is, not to be mixed up in a single retirement fruit salad. But experts Michael Finke, Wade Pfau and Mark Warshawsky offer recipes for combining them.

The Alt-Asset Teams that Reinvent Annuity Companies

By Kerry Pechter
'Insurance Solutions' groups use private assets to boost the returns of life/annuity company investment portfolios. RIJ talks with Todd Fonner of Investcorp Insurance Solutions about this trend.

One Life Insurer’s Pivot to Private Assets

By Kerry Pechter
American Equity Investment Life’s ‘AEL 2.0’ strategy is designed to help it thrive even in a low yield environment. Allocating up to 40% of its money to ‘private assets’ is key to the fixed annuity specialist's plan.

NAIC Eyes ‘Bermuda Triangle’ Strategy

By Kerry Pechter
A document from the NAIC's Financial Stability Task Force reflects the concerns that the NAIC has heard from a variety of sources about the increased ownership of life insurers by private equity firms. (Image from NAIC document.)
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RetirePreneur: Laurence Kotlikoff

By Jenna Gottlieb
Laurence J. Kotlikoff is an economist, professor at Boston University and president of Economic Security Planning Inc., a personal finance planning software company.
News

Conversions of pensions to lump sum payments are banned

By Editorial Staff
“If a participant has the ability to accelerate distributions at any time, then the actuarial cost associated with that acceleration right would result in smaller initial benefits," the IRS and Treasury wrote in Notice 2015-49.