During this week’s Technology Tools for Today conference in Miami, financial advisors met to see new technology in the industry and to discuss how it will shape the industry’s future.  Based on several interviews with attendees, overall, financial advisors don’t really care about how technology platforms integrate.  Instead, they are more concerned with systems that [...]

The expected rise in annuitization rates in certain older annuities did not happen, or it hasn’t happened yet.  In a recent study, annuitization rates in variable annuities that include a GMIB rider have been less than 5% aggregate over the past five years.  Annutization rate is the rate at which consumers convert their contracts from the [...]

With thousands of baby boomers reaching their 60th to 65th birthdays every day, the search is on for investments that can produce enough income to support a comfortable retirement. It can be a problem, since the last decade has shaken a lot of confidence in Wall Street.The smart investor is asking where they can go [...]

New federal regulations now allow employees to withdraw money from their 401K without penalty to transfer tax free to an annuity IRA. As a result of the Tax Increase Prevention Reconciliation Act, tax laws now permit in-service, non-hardship tax-free distributions from 401k, traditional IRA or Roth IRAs.   The Roth IRA benefits anyone who wants [...]

Well the usual answers you tend to see if one or more of the following:   FMO is owned by the carrier.        FMO has exclusivity for distribution.       FMO makes the highest override for that carrier.   Here’s the deal, these FMO’s push those carriers whether they are the BEST fit for the client or not.  Does this [...]

One of the many questions bereaved family members have is who pays the credit card of the deceased? In general, these debts are not the responsibility of any heirs and require the credit card company to make a claim. The debts are essentially the responsibility of the estate and are deducted from the estate’s assets [...]

Saving for retirement is tough, especially when the economy is down.  Studies are showing that despite the damage it may cause, many Americans are tapping into their 401(k) accounts before age 59 ½.  They’re not just tapping into these accounts for hardships such as medical emergencies, most withdraws are for everyday expenses.  There was a [...]

The recent entrance of numerous private equity and “hedge fund” players into the insurance arena has created quite the stir over the last 12 months.  And as the private equity money hasn’t ceased coming in to buy more annuity real estate (read about Warren Buffett’s recent variable annuity conquest here), we probably will continue to [...]

Yes, this is a common problem that’s come arise over the last few years. If you’re having problems with suitability, there are a few carriers in the Industry that will allow you to do the following for these cases:   Pre-Case Approval Basically filling out a 1 page form with your client’s information, sending it [...]

The LA Times has a nice piece of coverage on the struggles of American workers and not being able to save anything, More than four in 10 Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and nearly one in 10 doesn’t earn enough to pay for essentials, according to a study released Tuesday.   The survey, conducted [...]