Is There A Viable Alternative To Bonds?

Prudential plc, the parent company of Jackson Financial, today announced that the Prudential board has decided to pursue the separation of Jackson in the second quarter of 2021 through a demerger, whereby shares in Jackson would be distributed to Prudential shareholders.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. announced today it has reached agreement to acquire  Great American Life Insurance Co. and other subsidiaries and affiliated entities, which primarily offer traditional fixed and fixed indexed annuity products.

Last year was a tumultuous year when it came to market volatility and a global pandemic that brought the world’s economy to its knees. But client needs haven’t changed, and people continue to plan for retirement. The result is continued opportunities to present life insurance and annuities to clients, a NAILBA panel said.

On Saturday, the Leland resident discovered he had won $2 million in Friday night's huge $1 billion Mega Millions lottery drawing— just hours after he had run into some bad luck. It won him a $1 million prize, which was doubled to $2 million when the 2 X Megaplier was drawn. Dowe, who works in shipping and receiving, bought his winning $3 Quick Pick ticket at the…

Fourth-quarter variable annuity sales increased 4% from prior year to $27.9 billion, powered by robust registered index-linked annuity  sales, according to preliminary results from the Secure Retirement Institute’s Individual Annuity Sales Survey.

Independent Group was founded by management and LKCM Headwater Investments, the private equity arm of Luther King Capital Management, an SEC- registered investment advisory firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. “This acquisition is a key element of our broader strategy to continually enhance our overall business profile,” said George Luecke, President and Chief…

—There has been a jackpot winner in the $730 million Powerball, the first to get the top prize in months. Thanks to math and bad luck, lottery players had another shot at a giant jackpot Wednesday night with a $730 million Powerball prize was on the line. Winning numbers for Wednesday night’ s Powerball drawing were: 40-53-60-68-69 and a Powerball of 22..

Lottery players had another shot at a giant jackpot Wednesday night as a $730 million Powerball prize was on the line. The Powerball jackpot is the fifth-largest ever. The biggest prize was a $1.58 billion Powerball jackpot won by three people in 2016..

A bill to establish a best-interest standard was unanimously approved by the North Dakota House Industry, Business and Labor Committee following a morning public hearing. North Dakota is the latest state to pursue the best-interest model law put forth by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Charles Schwab has introduced two new variable annuities that are among the lowest cost in the industry….

NEW YORK, January 19, 2021 – New York Life announced today that it has expanded its comprehensive suite of retirement…

The Pennsylvania Lottery's Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots now offer a combined total of nearly $1.6 billion, marking the first time that Mega Millions and Powerball simultaneously have advertised jackpots of more than $700 million. The Powerball jackpot for Wednesday's drawing is an estimated $730 million, with an estimated cash value of $546…

—Lottery players have another chance to win big next week since there were no winners of the top prize for both the Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots in their most recent drawings. The Powerball jackpot grew to an estimated $730 million after no one matched all five numbers and the red ball in the drawing on Saturday night. If a lottery player strikes big in the…

PORTLAND, Ore. — Jan. 12, 2021 — Today, The Standard announces its first of several new annuity products launching this…

Several more states are moving quickly to add a best-interest annuity sales standard to its regulation of insurance products. The latest states to pursue the best-interest model law put forth by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners are Michigan, Arkansas, Maine and Nebraska.

Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc., announced today it has completed four United Kingdom longevity reinsurance transactions with Legal& General Assurance Society Limited in 2020.. Under the agreements, Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Company will provide reinsurance to Legal& General for longevity risk…

“Obligating yourself with debt is borrowing against your future income. You'd have $1 million in your 401 k, maxed out life insurance policies and guaranteed income from annuities. According to financial researchers, over 41% of boomer retirees have credit card debt, and another 35% have car loans with balances over $14,000.

I have been noticing some things lately that I find both troubling and consistent with things I have known and been speaking and writing about for some time. That's the struggle the industry has when it comes to promoting and discussing the very important issues facing today's and tomorrow's retirees. As I wade through all the pabulum on TV and in the financial…

The year in annuities included good news, bad news, regulation and legislation. Annuities sold great, sold poorly and, for a brief period, didn’t sell at all as insurers pulled products from the shelves during the raging COVID-19 pandemic. Check out these five most-read annuity stories from InsuranceNewsNet.

Kostyantyn Kornivskyy of Weddington in Union County ended the year 2020 by claiming a $1 million prize he won instantly. Kornivskyy bought his lucky $10,000,000 Colossal Cash scratch-off at the Market Express on Old Monroe Road in Matthews. The post Union County man ended 2020 with a $1 million prize appeared first on The Stanly News& Press.

–A group of reinsurance companies located in the Cayman Islands recently formed a new industry group, the Cayman International Reinsurance Companies Association.. Nathan Gemmiti, Chairman of CIRCA, commented,“ The reinsurance industry has strong history in the Cayman Islands. The founding members of CIRCA include: Aureum Re, Barents Re, CIBC Cayman Reinsurance…

FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C.– Someone who bought a $2 Powerball ticket at a Forsyth County convenience store won $1 million in Saturday's Powerball drawing, according to a North Carolina Education Lottery news release. Powerball players who bought tickets at the Circle K should check their numbers. A second lucky Powerball player in North Carolina won a $50,000 prize…

We all know that markets go up and markets go down. But when you have a steady paycheck, the effect on your daily life is minimal. In retirement, howeverm if you are using the market to pay your monthly bills, and the market goes down, your cost of living just went up.

Registered index-linked annuities (RILAs) are poised to exhibit robust growth as additional large, reputable insurers enter the space with innovative concepts, the research firm Cerulli Associates found. RILAs are one of the few annuity products showing steady growth in sales.

Global Atlantic Financial Group Limited, a leading U.S.- focused retirement, life insurance and reinsurance company, today announced the signing of a reinsurance transaction with Unum Group involving a closed block of seasoned individual disability income business backed by $8.5 billion in assets. The transaction will close in two phases, with…

“We received over 50 nominations of BGA principals, carrier executives, case managers, contract specialists, regional vice presidents, underwriters, techies, marketing and operational gurus,” said NAILBA CEO, Dan LaBert. Bryan Adams· Co-Founder& CEO· Integrity Marketing Group Andy Albright· CEO· National Agents Insurance Dan Allison· Managing Partner· Brokers…

Transamerica announced this week that it will no longer sell variable annuities with benefit riders or fixed index annuities. The company is also exiting the standalone long-term care market, Aegon executives said in a planning session Thursday.

The Trump administration replacement rule has two main parts: a new prohibited transaction exemption allowing advisors to provide conflicted advice for commissions; and a reinstatement of the “five-part test” from 1975 to determine what constitutes investment advice.

PEMBROKE, Bermuda, Dec. 15, 2020/ PRNewswire/– Athene Holding Ltd., a leading retirement services company, announced a significant pension buyout agreement with GE, a global pioneer of technologies that help the world work more efficiently, reliably, and safely. Under the terms of the transaction, Athene’s wholly-owned Iowa- domiciled life insurance subsidiary,…

No details are available on any changes to the Department of Labor investment advice rule. The next step is for the DOL to publish the rule. However, any rules published in the final 60 days of an administration, known as “midnight regulations,” can be rescinded by the incoming administration.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Executive Committee and Plenary adopted a pair of resolutions Thursday to wrap up work on key issues for life insurers. An effective date was established for AG 49A, and the nonforfeiture rate was dropped from 1% to 0.15%. Conflicts arose with both changes.

AIG Life& Retirement, a division of American International Group Inc., today announced that Todd Solash, Chief Executive Officer of its Individual Retirement business, will take on an expanded role with the additional leadership of the company’ s Life Insurance business, effective immediately. Todd Solash, Chief Executive Officer, Individual Retirement and…

Dec. 8– A Fayetteville woman will have some extra cash to do her Christmas shopping after winning $1 million playing the North Carolina Education Lottery. Catrina Hanton purchased the $10 Bankroll ticket at the Short Stop on Gillispie Street, the North Carolina Education Lottery said in a news release Monday. She had the choice of taking the $1 million as an…

Delaware is the latest state to tentatively commit to add a best-interest annuity sales standard to its regulation of insurance products. The state is accepting comment until Jan. 5 in an amendment to its suitability in annuity transactions regulation. If all goes well, the best-interest standard will be officially published on Aug. 1, 2021.

Alabama and Rhode Island are proposing updates to its “suitability in annuity transactions” regulation that most states adopted since the NAIC produced it in 2010. The states are the latest to propose “best-interest” standards for annuity sales.

American Equity Investment Life Holding Company announced today that following Hart-Scott-Rodino approval, it has closed an initial equity investment of 9,106,042 shares at $37.00 per share from Brookfield Asset Management Inc. as part of a previously announced strategic partnership. Additionally, American Equity today announced that it has entered…

WAKE COUNTY, N.C.– James Moade, of Cary, is the fourth Lucky for Life player in North Carolina to win the top prize of $1,000 a day for life, according to an NC Education Lottery news release. Moade bought his winning $2 ticket for the Nov. 9 drawing at the Wegmans Food Market on Davis Drive in Morrisville. Lucky for Life tickets cost $2 and offers players 10 ways to win a…

Department of Labor officials alerted the White House Wednesday that it has completed work on a reworked rule to regulate investment advice to workers and retirees. No details are available on any changes to the rule, which could be rescinded by the incoming Biden administration.

Federal prosecutors have upped the ante against the self-proclaimed “Annuity King” of Sarasota, Fla. Additional charges of filing false income tax returns and tax evasion were slapped last week against Phillip Roy Wasserman, who the U.S. Attorney’s Office has accused of bilking elderly investors out of at least $6.3 million.

The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America issued the following news release on Nov. 20:. The Big “I” and Trusted Choice (R) are pleased to announce the launch of the Guaranteed Income Program in partnership with the Nationwide Life Insurance Company and the Principal Financial Group (R). “Lifetime income annuities are a great way for independent…

FlexGuard, Prudential Financial’s first indexed variable annuity product, achieved $1 billion in sales less than six months after launch, making it the fastest-selling product of its kind ever, according to annuity sales data from the Secure Retirement Institute.

The new study from the Longevity Project in collaboration with Principal Financial Group ® and the Stanford Center on Longevity, explores the implications of longevity in retirement and potential policy and industry recommendations. “While helping Americans save enough for retirement must continue to be a critical priority, our research points to the…

Fixed-rate deferred annuity sales surged 60% in the third quarter to $15.8 billion, driven in part by strong sales through banks, according to the Secure Retirement Institute (R) U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey. With $6.54 billion in fixed-rate deferred sales in the third quarter– nearly $3 billion higher that the second quarter– bank sales represented…

Mayor de Blasio announced the agreement with the Uniformed Sanitationmen’ s Association on Monday afternoon, noting the city has now secured a total of $722 million in labor savings that will go toward filling $5 billion in budget shortfalls projected through 2022.. For months, de Blasio had been pleading for President Trump and the Republican-controlled…

While most companies have moved away from offering pensions as a retirement benefit for employees, some baby boomers nearing retirement still have these plans available and will need to make important decisions about how best to use these funds to support their retirement goals. Deciding when to receive pension income plans and how to structure the payout…

The plan is to sell 19.9% of the life/retirement business, either through an initial public offering, commonly called an IPO, or a private sale. It “will not consider” selling more than that, said Zaffino, who will become CEO on March 1, 2021, and remain president of AIG.

Lincoln Financial expects “to bottom out” during the fourth quarter, CEO Dennis Glass said of life and annuity sales, and the company is preparing to roar back in 2021 with eight new products lined up. Glass spoke today during a conference call with analysts to review third-quarter earnings.

Merger Agreement With China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co., Ltd Extended To November 30, 2020; Oceanwide Has Made Significant Progress On Transaction Funding U.S. Mortgage Insurance Segment Adjusted Operating Income Of $141 Million Primarily Driven By Lower Levels Of New Delinquencies And Incurred But Not Reported Favorability $26.6 Billion In New…

Prudential Financial is discontinuing all sales of variable annuities with guaranteed living benefits, eliminating its Highest Daily Income and Prudential Defined Income annuity products. The move is needed as the insurer recalibrates amid economic uncertainty and ultra-low interest rates, CEO Charlie Lowry said.

Athene is in an deal-making mode, President Bill Wheeler said, but will be looking elsewhere. American Equity rejected a $3 billion takeover bid put forth earlier this month by MassMutual and Athene, and is instead going into business with Brookfield Asset Management.

Record quarterly organic deposits for the second consecutive quarter of $7.4 billion, increasing 31% year-over-year, and underwritten to returns in excess of targets Strong execution across organic and inorganic funding channels year-to-date drove robust net invested asset growth of 18% year-over-year, while maintaining high credit quality across…

Jackson National Life Insurance Co. became the latest insurer today to announce layoffs due to the pandemic business slowdown. The company said it is laying off about 150 people, a company spokesman confirmed in an emailed statement.