What’s In Their Wallets?

By Kerry Pechter
Vanguard inventoried the wealth and income of affluent older Americans and found that a surprising number of them are still receiving defined benefit pensions. Income-wise, Vanguard identified eight types of afflluent retirees.

Is Time Running Out on the Fiduciary Proposal?

By Kerry Pechter
'If it takes six months for a comment period and six months for hearings, and then time to develop a final rule, by then we’re running into an election year,' Steven Saxon of Groom Law Group said at the SPARK Institute conference in Washington, DC, Monday.

Club Vita: Where Levity Meets Longevity Risk

By Vanessa Drucker
The cartoon characters in hazmat suits on Club Vita's website handle "toxic waste." It's a metaphor for the actuarial consultancy's real service: helping the remaining DB plans in the UK deal with longevity risk.

An Algorithm That Loves Annuities

By Kerry Pechter
PrARI, the retirement product allocation calculator that Cannex recently acquired with its purchase of the Qwema Group, shows advisers how to maximize retirement income (or legacy) using a blend of mutual funds, variable annuities and income annuities.
Featured

Getting the Exclusion Ratio (Without Annuitizing)

By Kerry Pechter
AXA and, most recently, Lincoln Financial, are marketing variable annuities that combine investment flexibility with variable income options that (for non-qualified contracts) allow regular tax-favored distributions without annuitization.
News

Zombie Politics

By Kerry Pechter
America is paralyzed by short-sighted, long-lasting tax and entitlement policies that deceased politicians locked us into. In his new book, "Dead Men Ruling," economist Eugene Steuerle of the Urban Institute says its time to restore 'fiscal democracy.'

Is Time Running Out on the Fiduciary Proposal?

By Kerry Pechter
'If it takes six months for a comment period and six months for hearings, and then time to develop a final rule, by then we’re running into an election year,' Steven Saxon of Groom Law Group said at the SPARK Institute conference in Washington, DC, Monday.