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SunAmerica expands lifetime income options
Wed, Feb 01, 2012
SunAmerica has also introduced a new investment portfolio – the SunAmerica Dynamic Allocation Portfolio –as an underlying investment in their variable annuity products.
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
Annuities
Allianz Life launches new indexed annuity
Wed, Feb 01, 2012
Only field marketing organizations and agents associated with the Allianz Preferred distribution model will distribute the Allianz 365i Annuity, whose income rider costs 1.2% per year.
Pacific Life launches GLWB for indexed annuity and ‘O-share’ variable annuity for Edward Jones
Tue, Jan 24, 2012
Pacific Index Choice now has an optional lifetime income benefit for 75 basis points and the Pacific Destinations VA comes in a new and cheaper share class.
Ohio National launches ‘Low-Vol’ VA options
Wed, Jan 11, 2012
"Going forward, I think the only sustainable product designs will be in the context of risk-levered funds,” said Steve Murphy, FSA, a senior vice president at the Cincinnati-based mutual insurer.
Aria Retirement Solutions aims stand-alone living benefit at RIA market
Wed, Jan 11, 2012
SALBs are back in the news. The RetireOne Transamerica solution is the first of what Aria Retirement Services CEO David Stone said will be several income solutions provided by Aria in partnership with major insurance carriers.
Canada’s Annuity Issuers Protect their Turf
Wed, Jan 04, 2012
The Bank of Montreal will halt new sales of its BMO Lifetime Cash Flow, a retirement income product that Canadian insurers said worked a bit too much like a variable annuity. The Canadian finance minister agreed.
About those Embedded Derivatives
Tue, Dec 20, 2011
The variable annuity with a lifetime income benefit--sometimes known as an exotic put option or an embedded derivative--was a product that has come back to bite many of the companies that sold it. Was this product ever the best solution for the Boomer retirement challenge?
Sun Sets on Sun Life's U.S. Annuity Business
Wed, Dec 14, 2011
New CEO Dean Connor decided to cut Sun Life's losses in the U.S. annuity business after a third quarter that negatively impacted many U.S. annuity issuers. The Canadian firm will focus on its employee benefit and MFS Investment Management businesses in the U.S.
Running Lapse around Variable Annuities
Wed, Dec 07, 2011
As the living benefits of variable annuities became more valuable during the financial crisis, contract owners astutely held on to them, according to a presentation by Ruark Consulting at a recent Society of Actuaries meeting in Chicago.
MetLife Dominates 3Q VA Sales
Wed, Nov 30, 2011
Another “very bright spot in the third quarter data was the significant increase in net cash flow, to $8.9 billion from $5.7 billion in the second quarter and $6.4 billion in the third quarter of 2010,” wrote Frank O’Connor, product manager of the VA database at Morningstar.
Fixed Annuity Sales Running Flat in 2011: Beacon
Wed, Nov 30, 2011
"It's an interesting environment," said Beacon Research CEO Jeremy Alexander (left). "The word is that some carriers are keeping a lid on business" because of the low rates.
The "Evolution of the Annuity Industry"
Tue, Nov 29, 2011
Like the Ford Mustang in 1965, the variable annuity with a lifetime income rider seemed like the right Boomer product at the right time in 2006. Then came the Crisis. A new survey by Cogent Research and the Insured Retirement Institute looks at where the VA is today and where it's headed.
“Carriers Settle In”
Wed, Nov 23, 2011
Variable annuity product development slowed in Q3 2011, according to the quarterly report from a vice president in Morningstar’s Insurance Solutions group.
Airbag-Equipped Annuities
Wed, Nov 23, 2011
VA issuers may be able to offer rich living benefits safely and inexpensively by embedding a futures-based hedging strategy inside their investment options. That's what Ohio National seems to have done. (Image by Spectrumphotofile.)
The Hartford adds enhanced death benefit to Future6 GLWB
Wed, Nov 16, 2011
The Future6 Death Benefit allows for income withdrawals that do not reduce the death benefit, unlike most VA death benefits, according to Steve Kluever, vice president of product and marketing for Global Annuities at The Hartford.
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.
New USAA life income annuity offers emergency medical rider
Wed, Nov 09, 2011
The free rider allows contract owners to withdraw up to 30% of the present value of the contract after three years to cover an emergency expense, such as uncovered medical costs.
Liberty Mutual’s new fixed deferred annuity offers three options
Wed, Nov 02, 2011
Purchasers of the product can choose among three modules—Extra access, Extra care and protection, or Extra assurance.
Academics propose solution to “annuity puzzle”
Wed, Oct 26, 2011
Low sales of individual income annuities "should not be viewed as an indicator of underlying preferences but rather as a consequence of institutional factors about the availability and framing of annuity options,” Shlomo Benartzi and Richard Thaler asserted.
Record annuity sales at bank holding companies
Thu, Oct 20, 2011
Three-fourths (74.7%) of bank holding companies with over $10 billion in assets earned first-half annuity commissions of $1.46 billion, constituting 95.2% of total annuity commissions reported by the banking industry.
Vanguard adds GLWB to its private-label variable annuity
Thu, Oct 20, 2011
The rider is issued is by Monumental Life Insurance Company, and costs 95 basis points a year in addition to the cost of the no-load VA, which ranges from 36 to 81 basis points, depending on the investment options chosen.
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.
AXA updates Accumulator VA
Wed, Oct 12, 2011
The Accumulator Series, introduced in 1995, now has a higher deferral bonus roll-up.
'Boom Time' for Variable Annuities?
Thu, Oct 06, 2011
Guest speakers Fareed Zakaria (pictured) urged more fiscal stimulus for the economy while Andrew Friedman warned of looming tax hikes at the Insured Retirement Institute's conference in Boston. "Boom Time" was the conference theme this year.
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.
The Four Most Common Questions about VAs
Wed, Sep 28, 2011
Investors have been asking Moody's if variable annuity issuers have made their products safer, and how Moody's evaluates the safety of VA guarantees. For answers, Moody's turned to the issuers themselves.
AXA Equitable puts flexibility in its variable annuity roll-up
Wed, Sep 14, 2011
Beginning with the third contract year, the roll-up rates of the Retirement Cornerstone variable annuity will be tied to the current 10-year Treasury rate plus 1.5% and will renew annually, AXA Equitable Life said.
Advisor Survey Provides Mixed News for Annuity Providers
Wed, Sep 14, 2011
Cogent Research's 2011 Advisor Brandscape survey shows that many advisors sell annuities and are highly loyal to certain variable annuity providers. But on average they don't devote much of their clients' assets to annuities--and don't plan to in the future. At left, Cogent principal John Meunier.
Many health-impaired Britons overpay for life annuities—Towers Watson
Sun, Aug 28, 2011
Many people in the U.K. buy straight life annuities from their plan provider instead of using the Open Market Option to find out if they qualify for a higher-paying "enhanced" or "impaired annuity."
Sales of income annuities up 30% in 2Q—Beacon Research
Sun, Aug 28, 2011
“Looking ahead, we believe that indexed and income annuities will continue to do well. The outlook for fixed rate annuities is more uncertain," said Jeremy Alexander, CEO of Beacon Research.
NAIC ponders regs on separate accounts
Wed, Aug 24, 2011
What, if any, variable product guarantees would be covered by a guaranty association, the regulators want to know.
MetLife Tops VA Sales in 2Q
Tue, Aug 23, 2011
Variable annuity sales improved for the fifth consecutive quarter in the second quarter of 2011, while fixed annuity sales were one percent less than in the year-ago quarter, according to a report from LIMRA.
Micro-Pensions in Central America
Tue, Aug 23, 2011
You've heard of micro-credit: those mini-loans to female entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Now a micro-pension movement is underway, and one of the first pilot projects starts next month in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Part I of a two-part article.
IRS seeks discussion on annuity – LTC hybrids
Tue, Aug 16, 2011
Although taxpayers are allowed to make the exchanges, they have not been sure how to report the exchanges, or how the exchanges might affect their income taxes.
Indexed annuity sales reached $8.2 billion in 2Q 2011
Tue, Aug 16, 2011
“This was one of the top-five best-selling quarters for indexed annuity sales,” said Sheryl J. Moore, president and CEO of AnnuitySpecs.com.
How to Demonstrate the Value of an Income Annuity
Mon, Aug 15, 2011
In this edited version of a monthly bulletin from the Qwema Group, Moshe Milevsky (left) and Simon Dabrowski show advisors how to demonstrate the value of an income annuity to their clients.
American General announces FIA income benefit
Wed, Aug 10, 2011
The guaranteed lifetime income rider features an income base that is guaranteed to grow at no less than six percent compounded annually for up 20 years.
Raymond James launches the RightBRIDGE Annuity Wizard
Tue, Aug 02, 2011
The new tool, developed with CapitalRock, gathers key information from clients about their income, liquidity, time horizon, risk tolerance, expenses, and guarantees, and finds the appropriate variable annuity.
Do VA ‘Roll-Ups’ Have the Desired Effect?
Tue, Aug 02, 2011
Deferral bonuses, a key feature of many VAs, may not prevent contract owners from taking withdrawals, according to Milliman’s latest survey of issuers of VA guaranteed living benefits. Photo courtesy of Whimsicalwhisk.com.
Allianz Life’s new FIA features rising withdrawal percentage
Tue, Aug 02, 2011
Starting as early as age 40, the lifetime payout percentage increases by 35 basis points for every year the client delays income. There's also a 50% bonus on the interest credited every year during the accumulation period and, optionally, during the income period.
A New Arm for a New VA Arms Race
Wed, Jul 27, 2011
AllianceBernstein's DAA fund, which aims for 60/40 performance without the tails, has been adopted as a risk-reduced investment option in AXA, MetLife, Ohio National, Sun Life, and Transamerica variable annuities. AB's Mark Hamilton explains.
More Generous VA Benefits On the Way: Morningstar
Wed, Jul 27, 2011
In his regular quarterly update, the product manager of Morningstar’s Annuity Solutions reviews second-quarter VA manufacturer activity and looks ahead.
'Financial Services for the Greater Good'
Tue, Jul 26, 2011
Andrew Carnegie, founder of the non-profit Teacher's Insurance & Annuity Association, now TIAA-CREF, could not possibly have foreseen how his group annuity would lead to today's profitable trillion-dollar variable annuity industry.
A Pair of VA Contenders
Tue, Jul 26, 2011
Big deferral bonuses and safer investment options characterize the income riders of Nationwide and Sun Life, both of which aim to be among the leading sellers of VAs.
Fixed annuity sales improve in 1Q 2011
Tue, Jul 19, 2011
"Though low by historical standards, fixed annuity rates were higher than in fourth quarter 2010," said Jeremy Alexander, president and CEO of Beacon Research.
Dark Horse Candidate
Tue, Jul 19, 2011
How did upstart Jackson National Life get near the top of the VA heap? And why are so many advisors nervous that it may 'de-risk' its popular Perspective contract? JNL EVP Clifford Jack tells RIJ all that he can...
Wells Fargo leads banks in annuity sales
Mon, Jul 18, 2011
Ten large bank holding companies accounted for about $563 million or more than 64% of the $748.2 million in bank annuity income in the first quarter.
NYLife Targets VA Buyers with New DIA
Wed, Jul 13, 2011
The new multi-premium contract allows a person to build a personal pension with a series of contributions leading to lifetime income beginning at a pre-determined but flexible start date.
Variable annuity filings: Jan-June 2011, from Beacon Research
Tue, Jul 12, 2011
Here's a hyper-linked list of variable annuity prospectuses filed with the SEC from January 1 to June 30, 2011. The list was provided by Chicago-based Beacon Research, host of annuitynexus.com
The Stag Brings Back GLWBs
Tue, Jul 12, 2011
In an about-face on VAs, The Hartford has gone back to the GLWB, tempering its risks with a CPPI fund. The arrival of Steve Kluever from Jackson National in March reflects the new thinking.
