- Empower Retirement lauds House approval of the SECURE Act of 2019
U.S. House of Representatives sends a strong message that retirement policy for working Americans is a top priority
Today the U.S. House of Representatives sent a message with its approval of a bill that reforms retirement policy affecting working Americans. “It’s exciting that retirement policy has garnered bipartisan support from Reps. Richard Neal, D-Mass., chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, and Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the committee’s ranking member, who understand the importance of…
read more - U.S. Single Premium Pension Buy-out Sales Has Record First Quarter — Exceeding $4.7 Billion
Highest Q1 total in 30 Years
U.S. single premium pension buy-out product sales surpassed $4.7 billion in the first quarter 2019, an increase of 240%, compared with first quarter 2018 results. This is the highest first-quarter sales total in over 30 years, according to the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute (LIMRA SRI) quarterly U.S. Group Annuity Risk Transfer Survey.
read more - Fixed Annuities Continue to Drive Growth in First Quarter 2019
Outperform VAs in 11 of last 13 quarters
First quarter 2019 fixed annuity sales were $38 billion, a 38% increase compared with first quarter 2018, according to LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute’s (LIMRA SRI) First Quarter 2019 U.S. Retail Annuity Sales Survey. Fixed sales have outperformed variable annuity (VA) sales in 11 of the last 13 quarters and they represent 63% of overall annuity…
read more - Giving Savers the Confidence to Retire
How advisors and employers can help raise retirement confidence
by Jamie Ohl
Retiring – it’s something that all of us hope to be able to do someday – but that not many people feel confident about. Recently, at Lincoln Financial we launched the Consumer Retirement Index, which is a measure of how confident Americans feel about retirement based on their answers to three questions...
read more - Ten Years Of Research Reveals Deep Changes In People’s Attitudes And Behaviors Toward Money And Risk
Between 2009 and 2019, financial habits and financial security have greatly improved, but optimism hasn't budged
In 2009, Northwestern Mutual commissioned a study among U.S. adults aged 25+ to explore their attitudes and behaviors toward money and financial decision-making, as well as their opinions about broader ideas such as the attainability of the American Dream.
read more - Family, Wealth & Planning
Seven in ten advisors say navigating inter-family dynamics the hardest part for HNW families
Today, Key Private Bank, the wealth management arm of KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), released the results of its latest advisor poll, which surveyed nearly 130 of its client-facing advisors about their experiences working with high-net-worth (HNW) individuals on estate planning.
read more - Marriage & Money Management
Budgeting for Newlyweds
by Jeff Smith
Taking your relationship to the next level brings new challenges as you deepen your connection. If you’ve recently tied the knot or plan to get married very soon, you know the importance of being open with your partner about everything. You may have already discussed buying a house or having kids, but have you talked…
read more - Self-Directed 401(k) Investor Balances Rebound in Q1 Following Strong Market Performance
Balances leap an average of 8.7% from Q4 2019
According to Charles Schwab’s SDBA Indicators Report™, an industry-leading benchmark on retirement plan participant investment activity within self-directed brokerage accounts (SDBAs), the average SDBA balance jumped to $267,609 at the end of Q1 2019, an increase of 8.7 percent from Q4 2018, as the markets bounced back from the sharp losses experienced at the end…
read more - Retirement Income Investing: A Much Saner Approach
What if you could trade bonds more safely, more effectively, and less expensively than Wall Street's "masters of the universe"? ...You can
by Steve Selengut
There are three main reasons mere mortals invest in fixed income securities (government and corporate bonds, notes, loans, and preferred stock) and in variable income vehicles like mortgages, royalty trusts, real estate, etc:
read more - Many Americans Leaving Money on the Table When It Comes to Fixed Income Investments
Fidelity Survey: Lack of clarity exists around rate of return and maturity dates
What happens when a fixed income investment -- such as a certificate of deposit (CD) or a deferred fixed annuity -- reaches its maturity date? The answer: if left unattended, the investment will likely generate a much lower rate of return than other options available in today’s interest rate environment.
read more - Cost of Youth Sports Delaying Retirement for Parents
Three-quarters say costs have impacted their ability to save and invest for retirement, survey for TD Ameritrade reveals
With hopes that their children will earn college athletic scholarships or even make it to the professional leagues, many parents are spending a significant portion of their income and time on youth sports.
read more - Social Security Too Soon?
New study finds many filed for Social Security retirement benefits out of necessity – but they wish they had filed later
New study finds many filed for Social Security retirement benefits out of necessity – but they wish they had filed later Six figures may be at risk over a lifetime Springfield MA (May 14, 2019) – In this first-ever survey to uncover regrets and learnings from those who have filed for Social Security retirement benefits,…
read more - Portman, Cardin Introduce Sweeping Reforms to Strengthen Americans’ Retirement Security
Bipartisan legislation will help Americans save more for retirement, expand access to retirement plans for those without coverage
Today, U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) introduced the Retirement Security & Savings Act (S. 1431), a broad set of reforms designed to strengthen Americans’ retirement security by addressing four major opportunities in the existing retirement system...
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