by Gail Lieberman
Immediate annuities can help clients get government benefits they might otherwise price out of.
Annuities in your 401(k): It's beginning to seem less a question of whether and more a question of when and how.
by Alan Lavine
Its new Web site allows advisors to evaluate and buy fixed immediate annuities from a number of insurance companies.
It should be easier for employers to offer annuities in their
retirement plans because Americans are at risk of outliving their
savings, Prudential Financial said at hearing on lifetime income.
Insurance companies are aiming to make annuities more attractive to
financial advisors who are compensated by fees rather than commissions.
by Alan Lavine
Immediate annuities fit well in retirement income plans.
Some advisors are dismayed that a court order, and the financial
overhaul bill, leaves the regulation of equity-indexed securities under state insurance
commissioners.
Elements of the sweeping financial reform will impact financial advisors by affecting the terms of their relationships
with clients, their business practices and the products they offer.
The guaranteed payouts on immediate annuities offer insurance against
the kinds of rocky times investors have been weathering of late. But inflation could whittle away value.
A securities arbitration panel has ordered Ameriprise Financial Services
Inc. to pay nearly $470,000 to an investor, including sanctions and
legal fees.
by
Eric Rasmussen
The period right after retirement can be the most critical period for investors, but it's also a time when people make decisions with their guts instead of their heads, experts say.
Annuity sales in the first quarter declined 27% from the year-ago
period, but sales of variable annuities rose modestly, a sign that
investors may be stepping back into the market.
by Alan Lavine
Payouts are appealing, but do your homework.
Finra remains concerned
about the inappropriate sale of annuities to seniors, and its
examinations of firms continue to raise red flags on the issue.
The retirement guarantees provided by annuities are more important to
investors than ever, advisors say, even as many advisors still avoid
using them in clients' portfolios.
A client with a need for income had her retirement assets slashed more than 40% to $500,000 as a result of the 2008 market crash. Here's how one advisor helped.
Buying an annuity confronts families with a dilemma: Should a parent
take smaller monthly payments so that their surviving spouse or
children can get some sort of inheritance?
