Annuities
Annuity news and analysis, including coverage of annuity market regulatory, compliance and legislative issues.
Forced early retirement wrecks plans
By staff WriterSaving for retirement is a difficult enough task for most people, even with solid planning and the best intentions. When situations arise that throw a retirement plan out of whack, best intentions are thrown under the bus. A statistic unveiled in a
April 18, 2008
Educational alliance formedAs of Jan. 1 of this year, anyone hoping to earn a Certified Financial Planner certificate must hold a bachelor's degree. To address that need and give its students a head start on the needed degree, The American College has teamed with Webster
April 18, 2008
Annuity allows greater access to cashSome consumers shy away from annuities because they fear losing access to their cash, and accessing cash in an annuity often entails prohibitive fees. One company has made it easier for consumers to gain access to larger portions of their annuity
April 18, 2008
Bankruptcy filings raisingThe federal bankruptcy overhaul that passed in October 2005 isn't doing what it is supposed to do, which is cut down on the number of frivolous bankruptcy filings, those filings that were meant to avoid paying off credit cards that had been run up
April 18, 2008
Opportunity exists in Wealth MarketThe good news for financial advisors is there are 4.8 million households in the United States with $1 million or more in investable assets (the Wealth Market). One-third of those are retired already. More good news shows that more than half of
April 18, 2008
A question of controlWhen the discussion turned to who should have oversight of insurance products, no one wanted to see regulation of annuities turned over to FINRA and Mary Schapiro, who admitted to NAFA's Kim O'Brien that she wanted more oversight authority: "[She]
April 18, 2008
The perils of giving investment advice without a licenseIf you're not licensed to sell investments, think twice about advising a client to cash out a security in order to buy an index annuity or other insurance product. That's because state securities regulators are more frequently sanctioning insurance
April 18, 2008
Regulators warn of slippery oil and gas dealsInsurance and financial advisors should advise clients to be wary of oil-patch scams - and should promote these deals only after doing careful due diligence themselves. According to the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA),