Annuities

Immediate annuities, also known as income annuities and payout annuities, can replace disappearing corporate pensions, but sales have been tepid. Insurers have responded with some significant bells and whistles.

Principal Life Insurance Co. plans to roll out a variable annuity called Principal Lifetime Income SolutionsSM on Aug. 1.

For years, Lincoln Financial has effectively been raising prices on its variable annuities, yet consumers keep buying. The company’s VA business exceeds desired levels now, so further price increases have been announced: cutbacks in benefits offered to consumers. The expected result is a boost in second-quarter business but a slowdown in the second half of 2013.

From the ball field to Sunday service, BNA's Mike Alef is an Everyman figure in the world of financial planning.

New product focuses on those approaching or already in retirement and is designed for maximized guaranteed lifetime income.

The programs generated a generous $521.6 million in income for the banks in 2012, the most they have ever produced in the five years that such data has been collected.

Asset managers have taken notice of the the proliferation of alternative mutual funds in the retail and institutional channels and have changed their game plan accordingly.

Are planners better off working in states with fewer competitors? Not everyone agrees on the answer.

Since taking over as CEO of 115-year-old Bartlett & Co., Kelley Downing has overseen an ownership buyback and steady growth.

A smart human capital strategy is key to a successful wealth management company.

Adhering to Shariah principles, Amana Growth is also attractive to many non-Muslims.

As carriers move to adjust risk, sales taper off after three straight years of growth.

Income annuity sales set new quarterly record, increase for fourth-consecutive quarter; fixed annuity sales drop 11 percent compared to 2011.

“Interest rates are having a large impact on overall annuity sales,” says Catherine Theroux, director of Public Relations at LIMRA. “For fixed annuities, people are less inclined to lock in rates at this level.”

In 2012, banks sold $29.6 billion in annuities, down 20% from 2011. Fixed annuities fell 33% to $11.9 billion, while variable annuities slipped 10% to $17.7 billion.

Rapidly changing U.S. demographics are ikely to render industry assumptions ineffective, Conning says. Protection gap offers potential for future growth.

After hiring 3,597 full-time agents last year, New York Life is raising the ante, with a goal of adding 3,700 reps in 2013. Among the new hires, more than half are expected to be women or individuals who represent the “cultural markets,” as the company put it, referring specifically to the African-American, Chinese, Hispanic, Korean, South Asian, and Vietnamese communities.

More advisors say tax deferral will become increasingly important in annuity sales. In a recent poll by the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI), 28% of advisors expect tax deferral to take on greater importance in the next five years, a “notable increase” from 20% of advisors expressing this opinion in 2011.

Karen Wimbish, head of retail retirement at Wells Fargo discusses her 16 years in the securities business.

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