Turn 401(k)s into Bond Ladders

Franklin Templeton SVP Drew Carrington says his firm's Defined Maturity Funds, which work like bond ladders, could provide retirement income for 401(k) participants, and could be paired with qualified longevity annuity contracts.
Anecdotal Evidence

Observation Posts

By Kerry Pechter
Expert opinions on the crisis from Rob Arnott, David Babbel, A.M. Best, Zvi Bodie, Bill Borton, Francois Gadenne, Stan Haithcock, Per Linnemann, Sandy Mackenzie, Sheryl Moore, Steve Slifer, Eugene Steurele, Scott Stolz, and Randall Wray.

For annuities, 2019 was great. 2020 is TBD

By Editorial Staff
Sales of annuities were stellar in calendar 2019--except in 4Q, as WinkIntel and Secure Retirement Institute report. With interest rates ultra-low and investor anxiety high, 2020 sales could go either way.

How Annuity Owners Behave in a Storm

By Editorial Staff
A new report from actuaries at Ruark Consulting considers how factors like 'moneyness,' crediting rates, adverse selection, and the heightened vulnerability of seniors to COVID-19 might affect the way people use their existing annuities.

IPO reflects ongoing shift at Jackson National

By Editorial Staff
'Jackson’s fixed indexed annuity sales jumped 1,293% in 2019, while their fixed-rate deferred annuity sales climbed 169%,' said the Secure Retirement Institute this week. (Photo: Jackson CEO Michael Falcon)

Dividend futures signal long slowdown: U. of Chicago

By Editorial Staff
'As of March 18, our forecast of annual growth in dividends is down 28% in the US and 25% in the EU, and our forecast of GDP growth is down by 2.6% both in the US and in the EU,' two Booth School professors write.

COVER STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

March 12, 2020

An Actuary Assesses COVID-19

By Matthew Edwards
A mortality and longevity expert at Willis Towers Watson writes that 'the variability of the mortality impact by age makes the impact highly variable by type of insurer.'
March 5, 2020

At These Rates, Why Bother to Save?

By Kerry Pechter
Negative real interest rates have become a disincentive to personal savings, especially among lower-income Americans who will rely heavily on Social Security and Medicaid anyway, this team of economists from Stanford suggests.
February 27, 2020

Project LIMA Aims to Solve the Annuity Puzzle

By Kerry Pechter
Milliman, the actuarial consulting firm, envisions putting a multi-premium deferred income annuity inside a 401(k) managed account as a way to turn tax-deferred savings into lifetime income. It seeks an asset manager partner.