The Fine Madness of the 401(k) Business
Most of the workshops and discussions at the NAPA Summit in San Diego were devoted not to the pending DoL fiduciary proposal but to potential solutions to the problems that retirement plan advisors...
View ArticleQuote of the Week
“You go to the doctor to make you feel better. But a doctor doesn’t have to make someone else sick in order to make you feel better.” Gus Sauter, retired Vanguard CIO, on the zero-sum nature of...
View ArticleVoya enters the structured variable annuity game
The product resembles other structured variable annuities in the marketplace, issued by MetLife, AXA, CUNA Mutual and Allianz Life. These products offer more upside potential than fixed indexed...
View ArticleSurge of fixed indexed annuity sales at independent broker-dealers in 2014
Industry-wide annuity sales reached $229.4 billion in 2014, a 3.8% increase from $220.9 billion in 2013 and an 8.2% increase from $212 billion in 2012.
View ArticleHow much should your clients start saving now? EBRI knows
The traditional 'replacement rate' method of gauging retirement savings adequacy ignores the risk of outliving one’s savings, post-retirement investment risk, and nursing home costs, according to the...
View ArticleValue of U.S. pension and retirement accounts exceeds $21 trillion
The total assets held in employer-sponsored retirement plans were $11.3 trillion at the end of 2014, an increase of 11.5% percent from the $10.1 trillion one year earlier, according to a new report by...
View ArticleNew York City comptroller calls for statewide “fiduciary disclosure”
“Billions of dollars in savings are lost each year because of hidden fees and conflicted financial advice,” Scott Stringer said, borrowing a theme from the Obama administration, which has made a...
View ArticleAmeriprise and Bank of New York Mellon settle ERISA suits
Ameriprise Financial will pay $27.5 million to settle charges that its own 401(k) plan investment options were too expensive and Bank of New York Mellon will pay $84 million for offering unfavorable...
View ArticleFinancial / Retirement Planning Software Directory
See the detail on financial planning software including vendors, scopes, costs, and contacts.
View ArticleSocial Security Maximizer
The Social Security Maximizer is an integral tool for a retirement planner's comprehensive financial planning calculations.
View ArticleValue Investing for Retirement
“Purgatory is what I’m calling our set of forecasts,” said Ben Inker, GMO’s co-head of asset allocation, at the Morningstar Institutional Conference in Phoenix last week. “We won’t make much for seven...
View ArticleVanguard Answers a Retirement Riddle
Why do so many affluent retirees pinch pennies, when could enjoy life more? Sellers of annuities and long-term care insurance may be interested in the answers that Vanguard and a team of academics...
View ArticleThe Fine Madness of the 401(k) Business
Most of the workshops and discussions at the NAPA Summit in San Diego were devoted not to the pending DoL fiduciary proposal but to potential solutions to the problems that retirement plan advisors...
View ArticleWho Knew? Actuaries Have Two-Sided Brains
Every other year for the past two decades, the Society of Actuaries has sponsored a 'speculative' fiction-writing contest for actuaries. The winners of this year's contest were announced yesterday.
View ArticleSeniors Weren't 'Thrown Under Bus'
In this excerpt from the former Fed chairman's first blog post at the Brookings Institution website, he defends himself against the charge that his low interest rate policy has been bad for retirees.
View ArticlePacific Life issues qualified longevity annuity
The insurer's press release positions the product mainly as a way for advisors to help their clients reduce annual taxes during retirement, instead of as insurance against running out of money.
View ArticleHueler’s Income Solutions now offers QLACs
Vanguard, Alliance Benefit Group, Beneplace and several large plan sponsors offer the Hueler platform to their plan participants.
View ArticleWhat is the Indexed Annuity Leadership Council?
The IALC is a three-year-old advocacy group representing fixed indexed annuity manufacturers, with former North Dakota insurance commissioner Jim Poolman as executive director.
View ArticleAIG, BofA Merrill Lynch collaborate on index annuity option
Through a daily “non-discretionary process [that] eliminates the impact that emotions may have on allocation decisions,” AIG said in a release, the contract moves money into cash when short-term...
View ArticleThe Bucket
Brief or late-breaking items from Bank of the West, Vanguard, Global Retirement Partners and LPL Financial.
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