Meet the Newest Platform in the 401(k) Annuity Space
'We’re a product design firm,' ALEXIncome co-founder E. Graham Clark told RIJ. 'We feel we’ve built the best process for integrating annuities into retirement accounts.'
Anecdotal Evidence
This Year’s Legal Battles
The life/annuity industry faces three big legal issues this year. All stem from, or are complicated by, the patchwork regulation of financial products in the US, our out-of-date pension laws, and the treatment of all annuities as a single type of product. They also all involve fixed indexed annuities (FIAs).
Bermuda Triangle News
Reinsurance on NAIC agenda this week
More news: Private ownership of life re/insurers may affect credit ratings, says Fitch; F&G issues its first RILA; American Equity Investment Life reports 2023 results; Global Atlantic closes $10bn block reinsurance deal with Manulife.
MassMutual platform to distribute Aspida Life fixed-rate annuities
The platform, Flourish, is a wholly owned and independently operated subsidiary of MassMutual. It serves more than 750 wealth management firms managing some $1.5 trillion in financial assets.
After record sales year for annuities, LIMRA predicts strong 2024
For all of 2023, FRD annuity sales totaled $164.9 billion, up 46% from the record set in 2022, and more than triple the 2021 sales ($53.1 billion), according to LIMRA.
Entrepreneurs
Two retirement experts launch a planning start-up
“By clarifying how investment volatility and an unknown lifespan impact spending, IncomePath allows a client to select the right combination of investment risk, portfolio withdrawals, and annuity income,” Michael Finke and Tamiko Toland said in announcing their venture.
MetLife to offer income annuities on Fidelity’s platform
The MetLife solution enables participants at all savings levels to purchase an immediate income annuity through an insurer selected by their employer and annuitize any portion of their savings, a release said. Assets not used to purchase the annuity remain invested in the plan.
COVER STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
February 2024
NAIC Urged to Limit ‘Bermuda Triangle’ Strategy
'The ability of insurers to significantly lower the total asset requirement for long-duration blocks of business that rely heavily on asset returns appears to be one of the drivers of the significant increase in...
July 2023
Of Athene, Pension Risk Transfers, and Fiduciaries
The ERISA Advisory Council recently heard comments on changing the criteria that fiduciaries use when vetting annuity providers in pension risk transfer deals. Athene's vice chairman defended his company's practices.
June 30, 2022
Why Annuity Issuers Use Bermuda Reinsurance
Reinsurance helps life insurers transfer risk and release capital. But when it's internal--between affiliates--and the reinsurer is offshore, it's hard to tell if the deal is real or just 'regulatory arbitrage.'
