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Lion's Share
Wed, Jan 18, 2012
ING U.S. Retirement will combine its own target date funds with the AllianceBernstein three-insurer annuity platform to offer a lifetime income option to its 52,000 small and mid-sized plans.
Industry Views
$300 Billion, Up for Grabs
Cogent Research's new 2012 Assets in Motion study can help you understand and benefit from the rising flow of money from qualified plans to rollover IRAs.
Burton Malkiel Talks About Efficient Markets
In this video sponsored by Vanguard, Burton Malkiel, Princeton professor and author of "A Random Walk Down Wall Street," talks with RIJ editor Kerry Pechter about what "efficient market" means to him. The 10th edition of "A Random Walk" has just been published.
New Income Solutions for Long Retirements
With the numbers of people over age 100 growing rapidly, there is an equally growing need for advisors to consider an array of retirement income solutions.
Annuity Issuers Slowly Enter The Digital Age
Annuity issuers are making a concerted effort to implement and promote paperless document delivery services.
401(k)s: They’re Not (Necessarily) Just for Employees Any More
A growing number of 401(k) plan sponsors, retirees, record keepers and regulators want retirees to stay in their plans well into, or even straight through, retirement, PIMCO has found.
The Future Of Online Customer Feedback Has Arrived
TIAA-CREF’s TC Listens website is an innovative new medium for obtaining client feedback online.
TIPS for Retirement Investing in the ‘New Normal’
TIPS can preserve purchasing power, provide systematic income and offer the assurance of a government guarantee for retirees depending on income from their investments.
Firms Back Variable Annuity Product Launches With Aggressive Online Marketing Campaigns
With variable annuity sales down, firms are intensifying online product marketing campaigns to reach more prospective investors.
Found in Translation
Annuity issuers are reaching out to non-English-speaking investors through websites written in Spanish and Asian languages, according to Corporate Insight.
Behavioral Economics and Retirement Investing
PIMCO and its Allianz affiliates recently sponsored a new study, “Behavioral Finance and the Post-Retirement Crisis.” PIMCO Retirement Product Manager Tom Streiff explains how the study’s findings can foster the development of successful retirement income products.
Annuity Issuers Embracing Social Media One Tweet At A Time
A growing number of annuity issuers are using creative approaches on Twitter to reach new audiences online.
Roth IRA Conversion Promotions Are All The Rage Online
Many firms have launched engaging online sales campaigns focusing on the Roth IRA conversion opportunities that will be available in 2010.
Annuity Firms Turn Their Focus To Online Client Security
Annuity firms introduced enhanced online security measures in 2009, but they remain laggards in the financial service industry.
Should Annuity Firms Care About Social Media?
The annuity industry has been slow to adopt social media. But given the industry’s target audiences, does it matter? Download an excerpt from the report "Social Media: Trends and Tactics in the Financial Services Industry."
Marketing Online Education To Advisors
Our latest research shows that dynamic displays, such as Flash interfaces, offer firms engaging new ways to present and market online educational content to advisors.
Industry Views are special reports that are sponsored and independent from RIJ's editorial content.
DATA CONNECTION
401(k)/IRA
Winners of PLANSPONSOR 401(k) Survey announced
Wed, Jan 11, 2012
Three service providers stood out in PLANSPONSOR's annual Defined Contribution Survey this year: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Diversified Retirement Corporation, and BMO Institutional Trust Services.
The Fees Ate My Savings
Wed, Dec 07, 2011
A gerontology professor argues in a new article that Americans’ 401(k) holdings are coming up trillions of dollars short, thanks to high investment management fees.
Five tasks that retirement plan advisors now face
Wed, Nov 23, 2011
What are advisors to small and mid-sized retirement plans doing these days? On a recent "listening tour," Transamerica tried to find out.
High and low earners benefit from 401(k) plans differently
Wed, Nov 23, 2011
Looking closely at retirement data, researchers discover that the interplay of taxes, Social Security benefits, tax benefits, and take-home pay can be complex--and can vary considerably from worker to worker.
Security Benefit introduces multi-premium fixed annuity for 403(b) plan participants
Tue, Nov 15, 2011
Built for the 403(b) market, the Total Interest Annuity can be funded with contributions up to $16,500 annually or with IRA contributions or rollovers.
Bill to offer state DC plan to non-profit workers passes in Massachusetts
Wed, Nov 09, 2011
But one observer suggested that extending coverage beyond state employees will be problematic, because of inconsistencies in state and federal pension regulations.
About 54% of full-time adult workers are in a retirement plan: EBRI
Wed, Nov 09, 2011
"White, more highly educated, higher-income, and married workers are more likely to participate than their counterparts," the EBRI's October 2011 Issue Brief said.
It’s Back: The Hartford’s In-Plan Income Annuity
Wed, Oct 19, 2011
With United Technologies' recent adoption of an in-plan annuity, it now appears more likely that guaranteed income will eventually become commonplace in the defined contribution space. The Hartford, after a false start, has jumped back in that game.
From the UK, ideas for better outcomes for DC participants
Tue, Oct 11, 2011
Would gradual annuitization from age 65 to 75 be better for DC plan participants in the UK than gradually switching from equities to government bonds from age 55 to 65?
State employees prefer DB to DC, NIRS/Milliman study shows
Wed, Oct 05, 2011
The study analyzed seven state retirement systems that offer a choice between DB and DC plans to find that the DB uptake rate ranged from 98% to 75%, with the balance choosing the DC plan.
Courts favor fiduciaries in suit over “imprudent” plan investments
Wed, Oct 05, 2011
Plan sponsors and fiduciaries have won another case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit—the third this year.
United Technologies Adopts In-Plan Annuity
Wed, Oct 05, 2011
After overhauling its huge retirement plans, this Fortune 50 firm selected AllianceBernstein's stand-alone living benefit as its in-plan 401(k) income option. AXA Equitable, Nationwide, and Lincoln Financial were expected to support the lifetime guarantee.
DoL releases “interim guidance” on electronic delivery of disclosures
Wed, Sep 21, 2011
For retirement plans that must disclose general plan and investment information to participants starting May 31, 2012, the Department of Labor offered two viable approaches regarding information delivery.
Cash balance pension for uncovered workers proposed
Wed, Sep 21, 2011
The Secure Choice Pension would provide retired participants with a guaranteed minimum retirement income, and plan trustees could supplement the benefit with a “dividend” during a strong economy.
Big 403(b) providers becoming bigger
Wed, Sep 21, 2011
Fidelity, ING, TIAA-CREF and VALIC continued to solidify their positions in the marketplace, according to a new report on the 403(b) retirement plan market from Retirement Research Inc.
The right savings rate? Russell has a rule-of-thumb
Thu, Sep 15, 2011
Russell Investments recommends that each year a defined contribution plan participant should be saving a percentage of salary equal to 30% of his or her final income replacement rate, net of Social Security income.
The four best known, most admired DC investment managers
Wed, Sep 14, 2011
Vanguard pulled ahead of the group of 36 leading DC investment managers to score the highest in overall favorability. Fidelity was rated first in overall awareness.
12 Retirement Plan Concepts Financial Advisors Must Know
Wed, Sep 14, 2011
In this article, an ERISA attorney sets out to help retirement plan advisors understand basic retirement plan concepts that can help them develop and maintain their retirement plan book of business.
Leakage from retirement plans plagues South Africa
Wed, Sep 07, 2011
To promote retirement savings and drive down the cost of retail annuities, South Africa's National Treasury is considering the creation of a public, low-cost "Retail Bond-backed Retirement Annuity."
TIAA-CREF Institute elicits “best practices” for DC plans
Tue, Sep 06, 2011
The research arm of the non-profit retirement plan for educators has just published the results of a forum it hosted last December on best practices and potential improvements in the design of defined contribution plans.
It pays not to panic, Fidelity survey shows
Wed, Aug 24, 2011
Plan participants who dropped to zero equities but then returned to some equities after the 2008 crisis saw an average account balance increase of 25% by June 30, 2011, compared to 50% for those who stuck with their equities.
Aon Hewitt releases biennial report on DC trends
Wed, Aug 10, 2011
Plan sponsors say they are concerned about fees, but the share of sponsors who calculate all their fees didn’t rise in the past two years. It dropped.
Going with the regulatory flow
Tue, Aug 09, 2011
In announcing new fund offerings for DC plans, Securian and BlackRock noted that they're trying to meet plan sponsor demand for greater fiduciary responsibility and lower investment costs.
One in five 401(k) participants has no outside savings: Fidelity
Mon, Jul 18, 2011
But nearly one in 10 corporate defined contribution participants increased their contribution rate during the first quarter of 2011, the largest percentage to do so since Fidelity started tracking the figure in 2006.
Putnam, A Work in Progress
Wed, Jun 29, 2011
With the announcement of a retirement research center, Putnam Investments joins the "thought-leadership" game. It's all part of CEO Bob Reynolds' campaign to rebuild a tarnished brand--and to change the way America saves.
Vanguard issues annual DC report
Wed, Jun 22, 2011
"How America Saves," now in its 10th edition, is a compilation of data from Vanguard's 2,000 defined contribution plans, which cover three million participants with about $400 billion in assets.
TIAA-CREF, CFDD create network of RIAs for participant services
Wed, Jun 08, 2011
The Advisor Network will provide participants with access to a pre-screened network of qualified investment advisors who provide participant-level advice at "an investment advisory fiduciary standard of care."
Putnam’s iPhone “app” puts point-of-purchase savings into 401(k)
Wed, Jun 08, 2011
First, find a bargain. Then calculate its value 30 years from now. Then contribute to retirement plan.
A Hub Named RICC
Wed, Jun 01, 2011
DST Systems’ Larry Kiefer says his firm’s new “middleware” simplifies the distribution of lifetime income products to plan participants, IRA owners and others.
SPARK accepting requests to change lifetime income product data standards
Wed, Jun 01, 2011
The SPARK Institute's Data Layouts for Retirement Income Solutions provides the standards for DST Systems' RICC hub featured in today's issue of RIJ.
New York Life launches GPA (It doesn’t mean grade point average)
Tue, May 31, 2011
Smaller defined benefit pension plans are adopting a liability-driven investment model that resembles the three-bucket system used by retirees to provide income. New York Life has designed a fixed income option for the first bucket.
Anxiety and distrust are common among Boomer participants: Financial Engines
Wed, May 25, 2011
A new white papers shows that plan participants want flexibility, safety, advice, sponsor oversight and fee transparency from financial products and service providers.
Auto-enrollees save less, Aon Hewitt study shows
Wed, May 25, 2011
A survey suggests that not all is rosy in 401(k) land. At 120 large plans, the median account balance is under $25,000, 30% of participants have loans, and 3-year annualized returns are under 2%.
Many job-changers unsure what to do with savings: Fidelity
Wed, May 18, 2011
Separately, the Boston-based firm reported that the average 401(k) balance rose to $74,900 at the end of 1Q 2011, an all-time high since Fidelity began tracking balances in 1998.
Most tax benefits of private pensions go to high earners: GAO
Tue, May 10, 2011
The largest share of 401(k) assets is clustered in big accounts, and the highest-earning participants reap the most tax benefits, says a GAO study. The CEO of ASPPA, a plan administrator group, says the study is wrong.
New technology offers to help plan advisors meet fee disclosure rules
Wed, Apr 27, 2011
The AXIS Retirement Plan Analytic Platform is designed to service all retirement plan types through a single web-based interface and data repository, according to the manufacturer, Castle Rock Innovations.
401(k) assets top $3 trillion: SPARK
Wed, Apr 20, 2011
We often hear that Americans don't save, but their collective retirement savings are worth about $16 trillion, according to research by RG Wuelfing & Associates, Inc. for the SPARK Institute.
An Industry Awaits Fee Transparency Rule with Trepidation
Tue, Apr 19, 2011
“This new ERISA 408(b)(2) disclosure has a bite to it," writes Louis Harvey of Dalbar in DSG Dimensions. ERISA attorney Fred Reish (left) estimates that 401(k) fee transparency rule would be effective "April 1 to July 1, 2012.”
Many advisors overlook rollovers: Cogent
Thu, Mar 24, 2011
Outside of Lake Wobegon, not all advisors are above average—especially when it comes to success in capturing rollover money.
Putnam's Man with a Plan
Wed, Mar 23, 2011
Putnam Investments CEO Robert Reynolds called for a new lifetime income regulatory body and announced a decumulation tool for Putnam funds in a speech at the RIIA meeting this week.
30% of employers to restore matching contributions in 2011
Tue, Mar 15, 2011
But the survey also showed that 57% of DB plan sponsors had frozen their plans to new entrants.
A Q&A about GuidedSpending 2.0
Wed, Feb 16, 2011
In an e-mail, GuidedChoice CEO Sherrie Grabot and CIO Ming Wang answered a few of RIJ’s questions about their income planning tool for plan participants.
A Guide for the Perplexed Participant
Wed, Feb 16, 2011
GuidedChoice is the latest 401(k) advice provider to announce a platform that helps participants turn their savings into income—with or without a rollover to an IRA. (Above: CEO Sherrie Grabot.)
Rule 408(b)(2) delayed until 2012
Wed, Feb 16, 2011
“We now believe plans and plan service providers would benefit from an extension of the rules applicability date,” said assistant Labor Secretary Phyllis Borzi in a statement.
What the ‘Lifetime Income Disclosure Act’ may mean for you
Wed, Feb 09, 2011
The bill would require benefit statements to include the annuity equivalent of an employee’s benefit, while providing a "clear path to avoid liability."
A Closer Look at “Income+”
Thu, Feb 03, 2011
Financial Engines CIO Chris Jones answers questions about his firm’s new in-plan income program.
GuidedChoice rolls out its participant income roadmap
Thu, Feb 03, 2011
"GuidedSpending was designed to replace the overly simplistic ‘4% rule’ approach long used by financial planners," said GuidedChoice in a release.
Fidelity to help participants move to income stage
Thu, Feb 03, 2011
Among other things, the Fidelity Income Strategy Evaluator illustrates the trade-offs of a variety of income-generating portfolios, which may include stocks, bonds, cash and/or annuities.
A New Cylinder for Financial Engines
Wed, Feb 02, 2011
Income+, a process-driven, product-neutral income program for 401(k) managed account clients, could alter the competitive landscape of the retirement industry.
