Mobile web use and video use will continue to explode in 2013. More than 85 million people use mobile apps and 81 million use mobile Web. According to Pew Research Center, 45% of people have smartphones and of those, 50% use social networking at least once per day. That means advisors need to have a mobile [...]

Fidelity Investments announced on Friday they are broadening its deferred income annuity platform with a new product to help pre-retirees create future lifetime income. Investor demand for strategies and products that provide guaranteed lifetime income is increasing, driven by a greater reliance on creating income from personal savings. MassMutual RetireEase Choice becomes the second deferred income [...]

Millions of Americans still receiving paper checks for Social Security and other federal benefits have less than two months to switch to electronic payments. In an effort to reduce spending, the feds began retiring paper checks and using direct deposits and prepaid “Direct Express” debit cards back in May 2011.  Not only does the Social [...]

Investment news has a long article on the potential and the potential problems with social security reform.  The part I’m more interested in is the future funding of the program.  Here is the excerpt.   Social Security currently faces a projected long-term funding shortfall, and if Congress fails to act, the program would be able [...]

    Click on the picture below to see Tom Kee on Breakout.

One of the hottest selling annuities right now is finally available in two of the tougher states to get product approved, i.e. Texas and Maryland. The Athene Benefit 10 with its “five benefits in one” rider is available as of Today, Feb 1, 2013.  So what are these 5 benefits, you ask? For a full [...]