Retirement

A recent Pew Research survey indicates that over half of working adults age 50-64 plan to postpone their retirement in light of the impact that the financial crisis has had on their retirement savings. The survey indicated that recent investment losses--not levels of income --are the primary factor that leads to angst among those who are set to retire in the near-term: But regardless of income or age, those who have lost 40% or more of their investment nest eggs are roughly twice as likely as...

Bernard Winograd is an executive vice president at the Prudential Insurance Company . Speaking at a recent industry conference, Winograd expressed his views on the existing methods of explaining retirement issues and solutions in the United States: "The retail system in this country of explaining this (retirement) to people is deeply flawed. There are way too many people in the system without adequate training, and there are way too many people with the wrong motives." The "retail" system...

Investors seem to be aware of the fact that they need to hedge longevity risk . In other words, people are concerned about the risk of outliving their assets. Sales of deferred fixed annuities increased 60% in 2008. While many different types of annuity products may be used to hedge longevity risk, the longevity annuity may be optimal if the sole concern is in fact avoiding a scenario in which one outlives their money: "A 60-year-old with a $1 million portfolio but no pension might allocate...

One of the nation's top financial planners is bearish on the recent upsurge in immediate annuity sales. An advocate of maintaining options and flexibility with retirement planning , this financial advisor sees immediate annuities as too restrictive for many financial plans. In contrast to the views on immediate annuities, longevity insurance or longevity annuities are discussed in light of the income and asset allocation options they create for retirees: "Of all the products that are out there...