California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s office said the state may push for a best-interest annuity sales rule similar to New York’s if the NAIC doesn’t tighten up its annuity sales proposal. An NAIC working group has two conference calls and an in-person meeting to discuss the rule over the next two weeks.

President Donald Trump says he will nominate lawyer Eugene Scalia to be his new labor secretary. Scalia is the son of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. A partner in a Washington law firm, Eugene Scalia headed a legal team that convinced a New Orleans’ appeals court to toss out the DOL fiduciary rule.

U.S. long-term mortgage rates rose this week after three weeks of holding steady, tipped higher by expectations that the Federal Reserve could reduce interest rates soon. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on the benchmark 30-year mortgage increased to 3.81% from 3.75% last week.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is leading the charge for Medicare for All on Capitol Hill, says it would require tax increases. Other candidates reject that notion. Sanders has pegged the cost of his Medicare-for-All plan at $30 trillion to $40 trillion over 10 years.

AmeriLife Group, an independent marketing organization, has acquired a majority interest in Brookstone Capital Management, an advisory firm. The combined organization will have more than $3.5 billion in annual life, health and annuity premiums and $2.7 billion in assets under management (AUM).

House Democrats and Republicans are joining in a rare show of unity, voting overwhelmingly to repeal an unpopular tax on generous health insurance that’s a symbol of former President Barack Obama’s health care law. The “Cadillac tax” has never gone into effect, since lawmakers kept delaying it.

The Federal Reserve’s latest nationwide survey reveals that despite growing worries about the impact of President Donald Trump’s trade battles, the overall economy remained solid. The Fed says that many of its 12 regions saw slight gains in retail sales and home sales.

Successful consultants will tell you, a big part of their success hinges on the level of service they provide. Exceptional service can be the difference between missing your goals for the year and becoming a trusted advisor to your clients.

Middle-class Americans are less optimistic about their ability to achieve upward mobility than they were six months ago, according to new data from CUNA Mutual Group. Close to 50 percent of respondents expressed worry the U.S. will enter a recession in the next year.

Employers provide access to health care coverage to more than half of all Americans, but this coverage is threatened by the looming 40% “Cadillac Tax” on job-based health care. The House of Representatives plans to vote today on the bipartisan “Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2019,” to fully repeal the tax.

New IUL products featuring “multipliers” or “bonuses” prompted the IUL Illustration Subgroup to consider changes to Actuarial Guideline 49. During a Monday conference call, one regulator called for “a total rework of AG 49 from the ground up.”

While accelerated underwriting has absolutely transformed the landscape of life insurance, it is not a one-size-fits-all solution and is not a guarantee for all applicants – even if they are healthy.

When advisors are taking a well-rounded, multi-faceted approach to engaging their target audiences, prospecting becomes much easier. They find more opportunities and their sales conversations are more challenging and come with longer sales cycles.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is unveiling a health care plan that would add a “public option” to the 2010 health care overhaul known as “Obamacare,” with expanded coverage paid for by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Biden’s proposal has been outlined by advisers ahead of its Monday release.

Patrick Harker, the former president of University of Delaware and head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, told the Wall Street Journal that he sees no need to lower interest rates. But Harker does not sit on the committee of the Federal Reserve which votes on rate increases or decreases.

This year is on pace to be one of the hottest on record, again, and the trend may only accelerate as the Trump White House loosens policies meant to combat climate change. That has some investors feeling anger, but others are seeing dollar signs, says John Streur, CEO of Calvert Research and Management, one of the largest families of responsibly invested mutual funds.

Allianz Life, a provider of retirement solutions, including fixed and variable annuities and life insurance for individuals, issued the following news release:. The findings, released today by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, show that Americans are starting to feel the pressure from major market swings over the past few months.

The new law of the land is layered and its potential impacts, numerous. The fiduciary governance experts over at Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young said firms and advisors need to be well-informed and proactive to make sure they’re Reg BI-ready come next year.

A magistrate judge denied a motion by Ohio National to dismiss a class-action lawsuit filed in March by Stephen Cook, a Dallas-based advisor affiliated with Triad Advisors. Judge Stephanie Bowman also recommended that the case be consolidated with a similar one brought by LPL Financial broker Lance Browning.

When broken down by age, those investors who said they would buy more stock during market swings were predominantly Millennials (55%), while older investors (64% Gen X and 77% Baby Boomers) said they were more likely to hold their course. 

Pointing to a weaker global economy, rising trade tensions and chronically low inflation, Chairman Jerome Powell signaled Wednesday that the Federal Reserve is likely to cut interest rates late this month for the first time in a decade. Powell delivered the message during the central bank’s semiannual report to Congress.

The NAIC is creating tools and graphics that each state can incorporate into their insurance department websites, working group members said this week. Work will begin immediately with a “toolkit” of info in time for Life Insurance Awareness Month in September.

U.S. stocks are marching broadly higher in early trading, sending the S&P 500 index into record territory. The head of the Federal Reserve signaled that the central bank is ready to cut interest rates for the first time in a decade. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s statement kicked off two days of testimony before Congress. The remarks reassured investors who had worried a strong June jobs report might dissuade the Fed from a rate cut.

U.S. life insurance application activity rose 3.3% in June year over year, nudging the MIB Life Index above par on a year-to-date basis for the first time since last February. June’s performance was the strongest monthly percent gain of 2019.

A new Colonial Life survey finds Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials and Gen Zers can all agree on one thing:. Regardless of age, full-time U.S. employees turn to humans– and not the web– when they need benefits information during enrollment season, according to new research from Colonial Life. In a survey of 1,506 full-time U.S. employees, Colonial Life found just 11%…

Market volatility in the second quarter of 2019 has Americans increasingly worried about their finances and retirement savings, according to the latest Allianz Quarterly Market Perceptions Study. Only 31% of respondents say they are comfortable with market conditions and ready to invest, down from 33% in Q1, and 35% in 2018.

According to a new Wells Fargo survey, Americans are willing to do what it takes to make their homeownership goals a reality— such as taking on a side job, cutting expenses or considering a less-expensive location. More than one in four (27%) say the down payment is the biggest barrier, and it’s even more pronounced for millennials.

Opponents and supporters of President Barack Obama’s health care law are taking their arguments to a federal appeals court in New Orleans. At issue Tuesday before a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a federal judge’s December ruling. The case will likely end up before the Supreme Court, which has reviewed the law once before.

Stocks are down on Wall Street in early trading. Investors speculate that strong U.S. employment data may keep the Federal Reserve from aggressively cutting interest rates. Fed leaders had indicated they are ready to cut rates to support economic growth. Technology and health care stocks are driving much of the market’s early slide.

Nearly one-quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals’ retirement plans and the realities of aging in the workforce. According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 23% of workers, including nearly 2 in 10 of those over 50, plan to keep working.

The Federal Reserve reiterated its openness to cutting interest rates to extend the longest U.S. economic expansion on record while noting that the pace of growth had slowed in the second quarter of 2019.

The Federal Reserve repeats its pledge to “act as appropriate” to sustain the current economic expansion, while noting that most Fed officials have lowered their expectations for the future course of interest rates. The Fed’s statement on interest rates came in the central bank’s semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress.

The June jobs report being released Friday will likely help show whether the U.S. economy has stabilized or is gradually weakening. Economists have estimated that the government will report that employers added 164,000 jobs in June. Job growth at that pace would match the average monthly gain so far this year.

Roughly half of investors were bullish on the stock market in the second quarter, saying they expected average stock prices to be higher by the end of 2019. At the same time, 23% were distinctly bearish, expecting prices to be lower at year’s end while another 28% predicted they will be the same.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York has filed a lawsuit against more than two dozen insurance companies seeking to compel the firms to cover claims filed by people who say they were abused by clergy members. Church officials anticipate that numerous alleged abuse victims will file lawsuits under New York’s Child Victims Act.

Trump, who was at the Korea meeting with his counterpart, Kim Jong Un, also highlighted that he’s unhappy with the Federal Reserve latest policy decisions saying that the Fed “has not been of help to us at all” in the trade war with China. “We’re collecting 25 percent on $250 billion, and China is paying for it, as you know, because, as you notice, our inflation hasn’t gone up,”…

Consumer spending increased 0.4% in May, a modest gain that suggests Americans remain confident enough about the economy’s outlook to keep shopping.

Round two of the Democratic presidential primary debates offered one of the toughest tests to date for front-runner Joe Biden, who was on the defensive at multiple points, especially over his comments and record on race.

Under the new rule for HRAs, employers can continue to offer traditional insurance plans or, instead, offer workers a flat, untaxed stipend to buy their own plans. Think of it like the difference between a defined-benefit retirement benefit (i.e., a pension) and a defined-contribution benefit (such as a 401(k) plan).

A federal appeals court has requested written arguments on whether the House of Representatives and various Democratic-leaning states can step in to appeal a ruling striking down President Barack Obama’s health care law. The question is significant because President Donald Trump’s administration isn’t defending the law.

The first of two 10-candidate debates probably produced no clear winner or definite losers, but it did establish Elizabeth Warren as a front-runner to be reckoned with. She got the first question, and gave the last closing statement. She defended her call for Medicare for All proposal against rivals who want to create a public option for health care.

An insurance commissioners’ working group opened up a new comment period and scheduled two 90-minute conference calls in a bid to finalize an annuity sales model rule. Comments are being accepted until July 10 on two topics: conflict of interest and the care obligation.

Although 83 percent of executives have an overall positive outlook on the future of the economy, more than half are preparing for an economic downturn, according to a newly released Corporate Finance Survey of 300 financial decision-makers conducted by TD Bank.

The opening debates by Democrats running for president will feature 60-second answers, a prime-time television audience in the millions, and a chance for little-known candidates to introduce themselves to voters. Tuesday night’s session and a second night of debates Wednesday are expected to be exercises in competitive sound bites.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says the economic outlook has become cloudier since early May, with rising uncertainties over trade and global growth causing the central bank to reassess its next move on interest rates. Powell says the Fed is now grappling with the question of whether those uncertainties will continue to weigh on the outlook and require action.

Baby boomer women have a median 401 savings balance of $59,000, less than half of the $138,000, median balance of baby boomer men, according to a recent T. Rowe Price survey focused on the financial behavior and attitudes related to gender. This savings gap carries over to millennial women, who have a median 401 balance that is $30,000 less.

Rep. Maxine Waters is pushing an amendment to block funding that the Securities and Exchange Commission needs to implement its newly enacted Regulation Best Interest rule. The House Rules Committee last night accepted the amendment for House floor consideration.

The Wells Fargo/ Gallup Investor and Retirement Optimism Index dropped to 85 for second quarter 2019, down 18 points from 103 a year ago. Investors are less optimistic than a year ago about maintaining their household income and reaching their 12- month and five-year investing goals.

Fewer women say they have asked for a promotion or a raise at work (27% in 2019 compared with 44% in 2016), and they also say they feel less financially secure overall (62% in 2019 versus 68% in 2016). The Allianz study also indicated over half (57%) say they wish they were more confident in their financial decision making.

The Supreme Court will decide whether insurance companies can collect $12 billion from the federal government to cover their losses in the early years of the health care law championed by President Barack Obama. The justices say Monday that they will hear appeals from the insurers who argue that they are entitled to the money under a provision of the “Obamacare” health law.

Many people worry about running out of money in retirement. Getting rid of a car could save you nearly $9,000 a year, which is the average cost of car ownership according to AAA. A study for the National Bureau of Economic Research found that delaying the start of retirement from age 62 to age 66 could raise someone’s annual, sustainable standard of living by 33%.