We would love to hear from you. Click on the ‘Contact Us’ link to the right and choose your favorite way to reach-out!

wscdsdc

media/speaking contact

Jamie Johnson

business contact

Victoria Peterson

Contact Us

855.ask.wink

Close [x]
pattern

Industry News

Categories

  • Industry Articles (21,155)
  • Industry Conferences (2)
  • Industry Job Openings (35)
  • Moore on the Market (414)
  • Negative Media (144)
  • Positive Media (73)
  • Sheryl's Articles (800)
  • Wink's Articles (353)
  • Wink's Inside Story (274)
  • Wink's Press Releases (123)
  • Blog Archives

  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • August 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • November 2008
  • September 2008
  • May 2008
  • February 2008
  • August 2006
  • Lincoln National jumps into new fixed annuity business

    September 4, 2013 by Darla Mercado

    Lincoln National Corp. is rolling out its first deferred-income annuity, jumping into a small but rapidly growing product category.

    The carrier, which already has a major presence as a seller of variable and indexed annuities, today launched Lincoln Deferred Income Solutions, an annuity that permits clients to pay now for a stream of income they’ll receive years from now. With Lincoln’s new annuity, clients will find out exactly how much money they’ll be getting at the outset. That income stream won’t change over the course of the contract.

    Deferred-income annuities are a tiny but growing corner of the annuity market. Year-to-date through June 30, sales reached only $930 million, a drop in the bucket compared with the $34.5 billion in total fixed-annuity sales for the same period, but up 151% from the $370 million sold in the first six months of 2012, according to Limra.

    Thus far, the majority of deferred income annuities sales are coming from captive agents, which makes sense since the companies these agents work for are the same mutual insurers that are manufacturing the annuities. Forty-three percent of all sales are coming from captive agents, according to Jeremy Alexander, chief executive of Beacon Research Inc. Twenty-seven percent come from large regional broker-dealers. “As players like Lincoln get into the market, you’ll see more independent producers on board,” Mr. Alexander said. “The large captive insurers have the luxury of having control over their reps, whereas the other make the products and see what happens.

    A handful of mutual life insurance companies are the biggest players in the field, including New York Life Insurance Co., Guardian Life Insurance Co., Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. All-around annuity giant MetLife Inc. also has a product.

    Two common adviser and client objections to deferred-income annuities are the fact that clients have no liquidity once they hand their money to the insurer and that heirs will collect nothing once the client dies.

    Lincoln hopes to address the liquidity concern by giving clients the flexibility to receive six months of payments in one shot to help fund medical expenses in the event the customer is in a crunch. The insurer also offers a death benefit that can kick in regardless of whether the client dies during the deferral or income phase.

    Though clients and advisers generally like the idea of certainty in retirement income, some are turned off by the fact that if they buy the income annuity in a low-interest rate environment such as today’s, they will be locking in a smaller income payment in the future. Low rates also hurt insurers’ profitability from this product line.

    From a risk management standpoint, deferred-income annuities are a boon for life insurers because the products give them a better idea of the size of their liability in the future. Carriers benefit from pooling longevity risk, knowing that in a large group of insured clients, a number of them won’t live as long as the others.

    Originally Posted at InvestmentNews.com on September 3, 2013 by Darla Mercado.

    Categories: Industry Articles
    currency