Retirement benefits

This week, LIMRA reported variable annuity sales increased 19% to $80.7 billion in the six months ended June 30 compared with the same period a year earlier. Today, the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) echoed the increase, reporting first-quarter sales at $40 billion, up 2% from $39.2 billion in the previous quarter.

Historically, the retirement industry hasn’t been required to publish all fees and expenses associated with 401(k) products. That’s about to change. The Labor Department noticed that the majority of 401(k) plan sponsors are in the dark regarding the fees they’re paying. To add insult to injury, most are under the impression that their plan is free. …

The aging of the U.S. baby boom generation may slow an already weak recovery as boomers sell stocks to pay for retirement, according to research released Monday from the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank.

Middle-income baby boomers, those earning between $30,000 and $74,000, are vastly underserved in terms of preparing for retirement, according to a new Insured Retirement Institute report, “Middle-Income Boomers and Retirement: Tapping the Significant and Underserved Middle-Income Market.”

Forty-two percent of workers are living paycheck to paycheck – another reason clients have to help employees wring maximum value from their compensation.

A Fidelity Investments survey released on July 28 found that a majority of Americans do not understand how their pensions work.

In case you have not noticed, there has been a flurry of regulatory activity surrounding defined contribution plans and DC advisers in particular. While there will be greater disclosure requirements, more advisers will be considered a fiduciary and it will be harder for advisers to represent a DC plan and the participants at the same time. Experienced DC advisers can use this activity to further distinguish themselves and grow their businesses.

The majority of employers want to prepare employees for a financially secure retirement, but have found educational campaigns unlikely to result in substantial changes in behavior. Employers walk a fine line when they implement automatic features; some argue that they enable lax saving habits and investment ignorance by funneling participants into plans automatically. On the other hand, Steve Utkus, director of Vanguard's Center for Retirement Research, recommends that employers use "participant inertia to their benefit and do it exclusively with plan design."

Lincoln Trust Company has introduced the Personalized Expense Ratio for the 401(k) plans that it administers. The ratio is designed for participants, plan sponsors and advisers to see the actual cost of their plans without having to perform calculations themselves.

When Americans think about retirement one of the main obligations they feel is the need to offer financial assistance to their adult children. More than 60% of respondents to a July 12 SunAmerica Financial Group survey expect that they will be helping their adult children as well as their spouse, grandchildren and siblings.

American workers lapsed into investing inertia after the market collapsed in 2008, but standing still actually benefited many and helped their workplace retirement plan balances rebound by 31% between 2007 and 2010, Vanguard said this week.

When individuals are faced with too many options they become paralyzed and don’t make the best decisions — even when it comes to 401(k) options, according to a new study co-authored by Columbia Business School and University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Three out of four middle-income baby boomers say their financial situation, not age, is now the key trigger for when to retire, according to a recent study.to retire, according to a recent study.

While couples are saving for retirement, they don’t seem to be discussing their retirement goals, according to a new survey by Fidelity Investments.

Benefit directors nationwide believe their organizations are not doing enough to help employees make critical decisions at the point of retirement, according to a recent survey.

Advisers have to be ready to demonstrate their value to more discerning buyers and focus on ways to run their practice more efficiently.

As retirement plan advisers implement their fee disclosure plans, many are finding that opportunity is knocking loudly.

As more employers adopt automatic enrollment, employees are participating in DC plans at a record high rate, a new study from Aon Hewitt finds.

In a panel discussion at the Insured Retirement Institute’s regulatory conference on Tuesday officials from the Departments of Labor and Treasury discussed increasing access to guaranteed lifetime income products and the proposed rule on the definition of a fiduciary that would regulate retirement savings programs and professionals.

Many Americans age 50 and older worry about funding their long-term care, don’t feel financially prepared, and would strongly prefer to receive long-term care at home rather than in a nursing home, according to a recently released survey.