Category: Annuities Fraud

In 2014, total annuity sales in the United States reached $235.8 billion. Variable annuity sales accounted for more than half of total sales, with sales of variable annuities bringing in $140.1 billion.

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The New Landscape of Fee-Based Annuities As the Department of Labor’s new rule comes into effect, requiring insurance and annuity salespeople to act as fiduciaries, financial companies are scrambling to adapt. One way that some companies are trying to deal with this change is to find a loophole […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Prudential, Jackson National, and the future of the annuity As the Department of Labor requires more insurance brokers to act as fiduciaries, and as FINRA continues its investigation into variable annuities, it’s clear that the increased scrutiny is having a bit of a shriveling effect on the market […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Avlue and Drawbacks of Indexed Annuities As the Department of Labor’s more stringent annuity rules go into effect, major sellers of both fixed and variable annuities are having to compensate and adjust both their sales tactics and the contents of their policies. While a number of sellers […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Reviewing the Variable Annuity Annuities are financial products that are often fraught with complications, miscommunications, and disappointment for policyholders. When seniors or retirees initially buy the product, they are generally expecting that the annuity will be both a sound investment and a means of providing stress-free guaranteed income […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER FINRA levies $25 Million Fine Against Metlife FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, recently brought down the hammer on Metlife, in the form of the second largest penalty in the history of the agency. Although Metlife did not admit to wrongdoing in the settlement, the core of FINRAs […]

Re-Inventing the Wheel: traditional vs ‘Modern’ Annuities Annuities have been marketed to seniors as an essential retirement product for decades, and it’s easy to see why: put your lump sum in up front, and received guaranteed income, with interest, for the rest of your days. This is marketing pitch, and […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Understanding and Preventing Elder Abuse It’s becoming increasingly apparent that financial elder abuse is a serious concern not only to seniors and their families, but to society at large. A new study by Metlife suggests that financial abuse costs elders almost $3 Billion every year. This money is […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER New FINRA Rules Aim to Curb Financial Elder Abuse FINRA fines for the financial industry tripled in 2015, to over $18 million. Many attribute the increased fines to a new focus on Suitability requirements, which are designed to make brokers and financial planners take into account how the […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER How Can We Protect Seniors From Financial Abuse? Elder abuse is seen by con artist as an easy crime to get away with, especially when the victims suffer from cognitive decline or memory loss. Moreover, the scammer may come from anywhere: a total stranger who pretends to give […]