‘In The News’ Archives
Annuities as Dementia Insurance
The statistics on dementia rates are stark with almost 35% of 85-year-olds being afflicted. The reason annuities can prevent financial mistakes is simple: With an immediate annuity, investors receive a steady check every month. While they can always opt to spend that money on something frivolous, it is difficult–if not impossible–to obtain [...]
Protecting Retirement Investments From Risk is Top Priority
Protecting against risk is the most important concern when it comes to managing retirement assets, according to Charles Schwab's latest quarterly Retirement Pulse Survey. Schwab's survey found that 35 percent of Americans consider protecting retirement assets to be more important than growing those assets while only eight percent consider growing [...]
Forty Three Percent of Americans Have No Retirement Plan
Most people have changed their expectation of retirement in planning to work past 65 or continue working after they are retired according to Catherine Collinson, president of Transamerica's Center for Retirement Studies. More than 60% agree their nest egg is not sufficient and 43% reported having to retirement strategy, in writing or not [...]
Four Myths About ObamaCare That Just Won’t Die
Death panels! Secret slush funds! Open warfare on the Catholic church! These are some of the misrepresentations that are often bandied about when talking about healthcare reform. There's one absolute fact, though: ObamaCare is destined to play a major role in this year's debt talks and elections and will undoubtedly have a big effect on [...]
Substantial Medi-Cal Cuts in Browns New Budget
CA Governor Jerry Brown proposed $8.3 billion in cuts across education, health care and welfare programs in laying out a plan to address California's $15.7 billion shortfall, an amount equal to 17 percent of the state's discretionary fund. He warned that additional cuts are ahead if voters reject his tax-hike initiative in November saying that's [...]
Understanding iPhone Key to Health Reform?
What the heck does the inside of an iPhone have to do with healthcare reform? According to claims by Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, when looking inside Apple's iPhone, an observer will see an assembly of coordinated and interdependent components, unlike a Dell computer, whose components come from different manufacturers [...]
Change in Procedures Lets Medical Malpractice Industry Thrive
There has been more stability over the past 35 years in the medical malpractice insurance industry as practitioners and states have taken actions designed to reduce claims and reduce the cost of reaching settlements. Several factors are contributing to the new stability including: state efforts to rein in out-of-control settlements of [...]
House GOP Works with Romney on Healthcare
House Republican leaders are quietly working with Mitt Romney’s campaign to fashion a unified GOP health care platform to replace President Obama’s health law, according to lawmakers involved in the effort. The Republicans are trying to reconcile the fact that they have yet to produce a broad replacement bill that would try to boost [...]
Retiree Health-Care Costs Surge
A 65-year-old couple retiring in 2012 will spend at least $240,000 in healthcare costs during their retirement, according to a report from Fidelity Investments released Wednesday. That figure represents a 4% increase from last year, when the study estimated such costs would average at least $230,000. But many people live longer: That [...]
49 Percent of Americans Don’t Save Money in a Retirement Plan
A new report conducted by LIMRA reveals that many Americans choose not to save money for retirement during a time when personal savings are more critical than ever. The trade association for the financial services industry said 49 percent of Americans currently do not have a retirement plan at all. One standout figure in LIMRA’s report is [...]
