Income

This past weekend President Obama discussed his "common sense" steps to reform and simplify the system of retirement savings in the United States. President Obama seeks to extend incentives and simplified savings vehicles to the 78 million Americans who do not have access to a retirement savings plan through their employer. Some of the President's proposed changes include: The ability to put unused leave time, sick pay and tax refunds directly into retirement savings accounts. Simplified 401k...

The business of selling a life insurance policy when it is no longer needed is poised to become a very large industry--particularly as retirees seek to tap into all types of assets for sources of income. According to a recent New York Times article, the life settlement industry could grow to as much as $500 billion. While this figure represents a small portion of the $26 trillion in life insurance outstanding, securitization of life settlements could prove to be a meaningful source of growth...

Inflation can be a positive for the owner of a fixed mortgage since the real value of future mortgage payments decreases. Inflation is terrible for the receiver of fixed payments since the real value of future receipts is eroded by inflation. As Brett Arends of the Wall Street Journal suggests in a recent column, owners of Treasurys and other fixed income investments (bonds) should be acutely aware of the risks that exist in the current environment. One scenario suggests that owners of 10 year...