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.'
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 reinsurance transactions,” wrote a New Jersey and an Iowa insurance regulator. 'A stunning development,' said one federal official.
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.
Featured
A Chat with the President of Prudential Annuities
Bob O'Donnell talked to RIJ about sustaining VA guarantees in an uncertain rate environment, and about the public's ability to understand VA riders. MetLife, AXA Equitable, and Jackson National also comment here on limiting new contributions to older, richer contracts.
‘The Future of Lifetime Income’
Symetra Life and Russell Investments have teamed up to build a low-cost variable annuity with a lifetime income feature that doesn't involve costly hedging, insurance charges or commissions.
News
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 reinsurance transactions,” wrote a New Jersey and an Iowa insurance regulator. 'A stunning development,' said one federal official.
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.
Now boarding: Southwest pilots onto Hueler’s Income Solutions annuity platform
SWAPA members will be able to use Income Solutions to buy annuities with IRA rollover assets or non-qualified savings. The platform includes fixed deferred, single premium immediate, and longevity annuity contracts.
Can layoffs shorten lifespans?
Unemployment shocks at ages 57 to 61 have the biggest long-term effect on survival, while shocks at earlier (ages 55 to 56) or later (ages 62 to 65) ages have no significant long-term effect, economists at Wellesley College found.
DoL pursues 2004 group annuity kickback case against PA broker
Dietrich & Associates inflated bids from other insurers to hide a secret 2% payment from The Hartford on a $26.1 million pension deal in 2004, the Labor Department claims.
Living benefit buyers live longer: Ruark
Mortality levels among purchasers of guaranteed living benefits are lower than among variable annuity purchasers who did not buy a guaranteed living benefit, according to the 2012 Variable Annuity Mortality Study from Ruark Consulting.
Bullish sentiments follow central bank easing
"While there is a debate about the effectiveness of QE measures in stimulating the economy, there is little doubt that they have provided a boost to equity markets," writes John Praveen of Prudential International Investments Advisors.
