Practice

Bill Would Extend Muni Provisions

The Senate voted Thursday evening to approve a historic financial regulatory reform bill that would make sweeping changes in how the financial system is regulated.

More than half or workers say they’re not confident about having the means to cover medical expenses in retirement, according to data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Total annuity sales fell almost 7% from the fourth quarter 2009 to the first quarter of this year, from $50.9 billion to $47.4 billion, according to a new report by the Insured Retirement Institute.

Mounting concern over the cost of healthcare could open doors for retirement planners.

Fixed annuities’ terrible sales figures drag down the total; VA sales remain largely flat.

New rules approved Wednesday by the Internal Revenue Service require 401(k) providers to offer participants at least three investment alternatives to company stock, which experts say most plan providers do anyway.

A fourth market participant, Mark Zaino, has pleaded guilty to participating in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies in connection with municipal investment contracts and derivatives, the Justice Department announced yesterday.

For a bill that has already seen its fair share of fits and starts, regulatory reform legislation hit a wall Wednesday as it failed a key procedural vote in the Senate and lawmakers squabbled over whether to add more amendments.

WASHINGTON — After refusing to answer questions for weeks about whether banks should be allowed to continue to operate as swaps dealers, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd quietly filed an amendment Tuesday that would give regulators the power to gut such a proposed ban.