How to Choose an Annuity Issuer

Shopping for an annuity, like shopping for a car, involves questions about the manufacturer of the product. Do their products perform as expected? Will service quality be high? Are they likely to stay in business? We show you where to look for answers.
Tax-Deferred Savings

So Far, Most 401(k)s Don’t Amount to Much

By Kerry Pechter
The 401(k) system still hasn’t produced the generation of wealthy retirees that, under ideal conditions, it could have. Scholars from the American Enterprise Institute and the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College explain why.

‘Performance-enhanced’ bond funds? Evidently.

By Editorial Staff
Many actively managed bond funds are riskier than advertised, and often provide higher returns than their stated portfolio holdings would suggest, according to research by business school professors at Harvard, Notre Dame and the University of Texas.
For Advisers

Five Questions to Ask about an Annuity Issuer

By Editorial Staff
'I recommend that an adviser develop his or her own criteria and put together a template, similar to an RFP, with questions to have answered when considering an annuity issuer,' said Louis Harvey of Dalbar.

COVER STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

October 31, 2019

Time to Put Benjamins Back in the Sock Drawer?

By Kerry Pechter
At the LIMRA annual conference in Boston earlier this week, MIT economist James Poterba described how low interest rates make saving for retirement more of a challenge.
October 24, 2019

Pitching Income Annuities on Greed

By Kerry Pechter
Speakers Wade Pfau and Curtis Cloke showed planners at the Financial Planning Association's 2019 conference in Minneapolis that income annuities can provide growth as well as protection.
October 18, 2019

Research Roundup

By Kerry Pechter
Recent research offers new insights into financial decision-making, the decision to work after retirement, and reveals surprising links between aging and interest rates, the rise of the service economy, and the 'shadow banking' phenomenon.