Buenos DIAs

It’s morning in America for manufacturers of deferred income annuities, or DIAs. Are they a passing fancy, or do they offer the perfect balance between risk and reward?

Roll Over, Rollovers: ‘Roll-Ins’ Have Arrived

Retirement Clearinghouse (formerly RolloverSystems) CEO Spencer Williams wants people to consolidate (roll in) their retirement accounts in their current 401(k)s. It would mean fewer ‘stranded’ retirement accounts and less ‘leakage,’ he claims.

A Man of Conviction

How did Matthew Hutcheson, once a poster boy for fiduciary rectitude, turn into the wanted-poster man for fiduciary misconduct? But his ill-fated deal for the Osprey Meadows golf course (pictured) in Idaho was just a subplot within a subplot of the 2008 real estate bust.

Obama’s Budget Too Austere for Retirement Industry

There’s outrage and indignation over the administration’s call for a $3 million cap on lifetime accumulations in tax-favored accounts, but only a tiny number of accounts would be affected.
Featured

The Trapdoors at the Fed’s Exit

The exit from the Fed’s QE and zero-interest-rate policies will be treacherous, writes this NYU Stern School of Business economist. Exiting too fast will crash the real economy, while exiting too slowly will first create a huge bubble and then crash the financial system.

Nine Insurers Now Offer DIAs

Here are thumbnail descriptions of deferred income annuities from American General, Guardian Life, MassMutual, MetLife, New York Life, Northwestern Mutual, The Principal, Prudential and Symetra.
News

Small is beautiful, say these plan providers

Transamerica launches a new service for small-plan sponsors, The Online 401(k) jumps into the auto-IRA business, and Fidelity announces that small-plan balances have rebounded 64% since the nadir of the financial crisis.

The Bucket

Brief or late-breaking items from MassMutual, Nationwide and ASPire.