One of the biggest benefits offered by annuities are guarantees for income that will last the rest of your life regardless of how long you live.  It is one of many benefits offered by annuity vehicles that cannot be found in other retirement plans.  Many companies offer annuity income guarantees under the names Living Benefit [...]

Based on findings from a recent survey done by Ameriprise Financial, many baby boomers have unrealistic views of the amount of assets they need for a secure retirement.  The financial planning firm conducted phone interviews with 1,000 men and women between the ages of 50 and 70.  The people surveyed were employed, had at least [...]

Social Security’s financial outlook took another hit this week, as the Congressional Budget Office hiked its estimate for cash deficits from 2013 to 2022 by $212 billion. The wider deficits –mainly due to weaker revenue estimates – mean a quicker depletion of Social Security’s trust fund, after which the program could only afford to pay [...]

Baby boomers navigating their way through retirement planning are finding new obstacles the older generations didn’t face: we are living longer; pensions have been wiped out, healthcare cost increased, just to name a few.  Here are five ways to make your retirement cheaper. Create a Budget – one of the most important steps in retirement [...]

Read a piece this morning on Marketwatch on a subject that is much more common than even I thought.  There are so many ways that people are banking on to fund their retirement it ceases to be amusing anymore.  The one I hear the most would be to sell their business.  “Oh I’ll just sell [...]

An Ameriprise Financial survey last Tuesday found that people might have unrealistic expectations about how much they can rely on home equity in their retirement. And the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has just formalized limitations that will reduce the amount of funds people will be able to get from reverse mortgages. [...]

The final 3rd quarter annuity sales numbers for 2012 are in!  First, the not so great news – total annuity sales industrywide were down 4.3 percent to $43 billion from second quarter 2012.  However, there were some very positive trends in the data report from the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) that are worth mentioning.  To [...]

Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. Inc. today announced its 2012 financial results, which include a record dividend payout to policy owners expected to exceed $5 billion in 2013. The company paid $4.97 billion in dividends last year.   The company said its insurance and annuity lines set new sales records in 2012. The company’s [...]

According to a study released today by the TIAA-CREF Institute and Independent Sector, about 45 percent of all employees in the nonprofit sector are not confident with their ability to prepare financially for retirement. The findings underscore the need for the nonprofit and philanthropic sector to address their employees’ long-term financial security, create more opportunities [...]

We all know that this year, social security checks will be a little higher for those collecting, thanks to the cost of living increase.  The increase is not going to change your lifestyle, but every little bit helps.  The average single beneficiary will see an increase of $21 each month, while couples will see an [...]