401(k)s Are a ‘Fraud,’ and Other New Research
Here are five fresh, timely pieces of academic research on retirement-related topics, including the alleged unfairness of the employer-sponsored defined contribution plan savings system.
Anecdotal Evidence
Consumer Groups Urge DOL to Tighten “Reg BI”
Consumer advocacy groups are urging the Department of Labor to return to its 2016 stance--when it required annuity sellers to pledge to act solely in their clients' best interest when recommending rollovers or transfers of tax-deferred savings.
Deferred annuity sales reach $243 billion in 2021: Wink
The top selling annuity issuers by category were Jackson National (variable), Athene (indexed), Allianz Life (structured), and Global Atlantic (fixed-rate). Jackson and MassMutual were the top sellers of variable and fixed annuities, respectively. (Right: Wink CEO Sheryl Moore.)
Bermuda Triangle
‘Private equity’s insurance innovation needs a risk check’: Risk. net
In this guest editorial, the editor-in-chief of Risk.net applauds the innovation that private equity firms bring to the annuity industry, but urges regulators to 'assess the private equity model, preferably before the next credit crisis hits.'
New MassMutual VA features RetirePay, an income rider
Best known as a fixed annuity specialist, MassMutual had just $11.7 billion in VA assets under management as of Sept. 30, 2021, according to Morningstar. Overall, MassMutual was ranked 20th in VA AUM on that date, with a market share of less than one percent.
COVER STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
March 11, 2022
Meet MassMutual’s Bermuda Reinsurer
MassMutual helped finance Martello Re, the $1.65bn Bermuda reinsurer that just reinsured $14bn worth of MassMutual's in-force fixed-rate and fixed index annuities, and recruited Dennis Ho to be its CEO.
March 3, 2022
Investment, Pension, or Annuity? This Fund Is a Hybrid
Purpose Financial's Longevity Pension Fund, introduced in Canada last summer, is designed to provide sustainable income for life with liquidity of principal. Getting SEC approval for its sale as a mutual fund in the...
February 23, 2022
A Policy Dynamo Touts ‘Dynamic Pensions’
Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, an actuary and retirement policy expert at Canada's National Institute on Aging, claims that a non-guaranteed lifetime income tool could generate more income than any annuities. Tontines, anyone?
