'Ponzi schemes are private frauds that collapse when new investors stop joining. Social Security is managed by the U.S. government, backed by legal mandates and payroll tax revenues,' ChatGPT told me. (Art: 1980s Social Security poster.)

Holding a rated note (instead of an unrated private equity fund) can reduce the extra capital that life insurers need to post when buying risky, unrated private assets. Insurance regulators have taken interest in the strategy but are responding at a crawl. (Image: 'Sleeping Guards,' Piero della Francesca.)

Flow reinsurance involves the ongoing, immediate transfer of risks from a life insurer to a reinsurer as soon as annuities are issued. Life/annuity companies have used flow reinsurance for at least 15 years, but it’s growing fast. (Photo: Gullfoss in Iceland.)