What can advisors glean from the recent popularity spike of the perennially disparaged variable annuity? Though their origins can be traced back to the Roman Empire, annuities have been historically underutilized by advisors. But that could be changing, panelists told attendees at Pershing's annual Insite conference.Read More
There are some striking differences between the European and American scenes when it comes to pension plan management. The more long-term and strategic approach typically embodied by private pension plans in the U.K. has allowed those plans to be early adopters of LDI and other forms of de-risking. Plans in the U.S. are playing catch-up.Read More
Lockheed Martin Corp. made headlines at the end of January when it announced plans to shift retiree pensions to annuities offered by a life insurer. In doing so, it joins an expanding list of companies, including FedEx Corp., Raytheon Co. and Alcoa Corp., that have transferred billions of dollars in liabilities to an insurer.Read More
The latest Issue Brief publication from the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI) shows only a very small percentage of defined contribution (DC) and individual retirement account (IRA) balances are annuitized in a given year.Read More
There is no sign of a slowing in demand for longevity risk transfer and reinsurance solutions, as pensions continue to seek out partners to help them transfer their exposures and longevity risk itself looks set to increase again, as health advances could accelerate longevity improvements.Read More
House Ways and Means Committee chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, submitted an amendment to the Family Savings Act—legislation included in a package of bills as part of Tax Reform 2.0. The amendment is a fiduciary rule safe harbor for the selection of a lifetime income provider for retirement plans.Read More
U.S. corporate executives considering a pension risk transfer need to think long and hard about the mechanics of how best to structure the deal with an insurance company: an asset-in-kind transaction, a cash transaction or some combination of both, industry experts said.Read More
Among the many effects on corporate finance from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a greater motivation to address problems with defined-benefit (DB) employee pension plans. Thanks also to the savings from a lower corporate tax rate for 2018, senior finance executives think that this year may be an opportune time to reduce the liability risks associated...Read More
The average funding ratio of the 100 largest U.S. corporate defined benefit plans jumped 4.7 percentage points to 89.2% in 2017 after years of small declines, Pensions & Investments' annual analysis of Securities and Exchange Commission filings shows.Read More
