Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.
The annuity industry may be the last sector to adopt the robo-advisor tool, but the use of such a technology is bound to happen, according to this article on MarketWatch. Robo-advisors will enable carriers to remove agent compensation and middlemen fees, resulting in better product pricing to consumers. Contractual guarantees, among all types of annuities, will improve and increase with the direct-to-consumer annuity model that robo-advisors create. And consumers likely will support the model when they are informed about the benefit. -- MarketWatch
Clients are advised to automate the increase in contributions to their retirement plans so they can secure their finances in retirement regardless of market conditions, according to this article on Time Money. They also need to employ tax-saving and other strategies that will minimize their investment cost so they will have more money to grow through compounding, which will mean bigger savings when they retire. -- Time Money
The White House and Congressional leaders reached a budget agreement that includes a provision aimed at preventing hefty increases in Medicare premiums and significant cuts in Social Security disability benefits, according to this article in The New York Times. The Treasury Department will provide the funds to cover increases in health care costs for Medicare beneficiaries but an additional $3 will be added to the premiums over about five years to repay the funds under the budget deal. "This is a creative solution to smooth out increases in Medicare premiums and deductibles without having a major impact on seniors in any given year," says Patricia H. Neuman of the Kaiser Family Foundation. -- The New York Times
A study by the Center for Effective Government and the Institute for Policy Studies found that the 100 largest CEO retirement funds have a combined value of $4.9 billion, which is equal to the entire retirement savings of 41% of American households, according to this article on CBS Moneywatch. The results indicate that 50 million families, or more than 116 million Americans, have smaller retirement assets compared with those 100 CEOs. -- CBS Moneywatch
Clients need to account for market volatility when investing within a 401(k) and other retirement accounts, according to this article in U.S. News & World Report. To achieve this, they are advised to meet with a financial advisor to develop a sound investing plan and adopt a buy-low, sell-high strategy. Also, they are advised to review their investments once every quarter. -- Yahoo Finance
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