Retirement

A recent article on retirement planning discusses the profound impact that health events can have on retiree assets. A retirement income study by the National Bureau of Economic Research indicates that the association between health and retirement assets is "striking:" People in the bottom 20 percent of the population in terms of their health had median assets only half those of people in the top 20 percent when the research period began in 1994. When it ended 12 years later, the least-healthy...

Officials from the Departments of Treasury and Labor want annuities to be a default option for workers who participate in employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401ks. At a recent industry conference, Treasury senior advisor Mark Iwry spoke of creating annuity -based lifetime income options within the defined contribution 401k arena. Issues such as credit risk and portability continue to present obstacles to progress. Employer fiduciary liability with respect to in-plan annuity selection...

A recent article from Wall Street Journal columnist Leslie Scism discusses the value that has been preserved and delivered over the past several years by variable annuities and living benefits . Despite intense media criticism and generally negative perceptions among financial advisors, variable annuities have been among the best wealth management vehicles of the past decade. The performance and value have been especially evident during the recent capital markets implosion. Scism makes the...