Articles

Reference articles and commentary on annuities, lifetime income, and retirement finance. Updated over time.

The Best Financial Planning Resources are Affordable and Far Removed from Wall Street

There are many affordable things we can do independently of Wall Street to safely and significantly raise our standards of living.

May 21, 2026

Battle Lines Being Drawn Over Fiduciary Status of Financial Advisors

There is a key point of distinction that exists in the world of financial advice and vast majority of people are unaware that it exists.  The defining issue is whether a financial advisor actually assumes the role of fiduciary.  Fiduciary responsibility is important because it basically means that…

May 21, 2026

A Benchmark for Lifetime Income

Performance standards such as the proposed retirement income benchmark are exactly what the emerging retirement income industry needs.

May 21, 2026

Are Inflation Adjusted Annuities Worth the Cost?

At the moment, it appears that inflation protection for fixed annuities is not worth the additional cost.

May 21, 2026

Annuity Industry Pioneer Jerry Golden at Work on his Latest Venture

Jerry Golden--often referred to as the father of variable life insurance and variable annuities--has had a distinguished career as an innovator and entrepreneur in both the insurance and personal retirement businesses.

May 21, 2026

Another Perspective on Sequence of Returns through Low Volatility Investing

Financial advisors and retirees should be aware of the profound impact that a low volatility portfolio can have on investment performance and, consequently, retirement spending sustainability.

May 21, 2026

Annuity Digest Site Redesign

Annuity Digest Visitors: This week AnnuityDigest.com has been re-launched with a new and improved design.

May 21, 2026

Annuity Criticisms Often Boil-Down to Control of Assets

The control of assets issue should make financial services consumers equally if not more wary when their financial advisor never bothers to even mention the word annuity.

May 21, 2026

Anna Rappaport on Annuities and Planning for the Long Term

Anna Rappaport is widely recognized as a leading expert on retirement systems, workforce issues, the impact of changing demographics and women’s retirement security .

May 21, 2026

Annuities and the Financial Media – Don’t Believe Everything You Read

The annuity industry is a large and increasingly important part of the financial services landscape.  Millions of Baby Boomers are retiring and will be in need of stable sources of income and protection from longevity risk. Given the industry’s size and importance, the lack of positive press,…

May 21, 2026

Annuities and Other Forms of Guaranteed Income are Priorities for the Obama Administration

Much has been written over the past couple of weeks about the Obama Administration's support of annuities. The New York Times ran a story about the "unloved annuity getting a hug from Obama." Bloomberg featured an article in its personal finance section describing the potential, the pitfalls and…

May 21, 2026

5 Reasons to Question the Recent Indexed Annuity Article in Bloomberg

An article on indexed annuities appeared in Bloomberg yesterday ( click here to read ).

May 21, 2026