On January 8, 2018, Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh announced that Maryland’s Consumer Protection Division had entered into a settlement resolving an investigation into deceptive marketing practices by Annuity Sold, LLC and its many affiliated companies: Uber Funding,LLC; Bendermere Capital Solutions, LLC; Axis Funding, LLC; Stonebridge Capital, LLC; Greenspring Funding, LLC; LSG, LLC; Preak […]
If you weren’t worried about concussions before, “Concussion Protocol“, directed by Josh Begley of The Intercept and produced by Laura Poitras should do it for you. The masterful film contains footage of each concussion reported during the 2017-2018 NFL season. 281 reported concussions – the most reported in the past 6 years. The NFL Concussion Settlement is […]
Fraud in the structured settlement secondary market appears to continue unabated. One of the latest scams seems to involve transfer companies that obtain court orders authorizing an annuitant to sell his/her periodic payments, and then the company fails to pay the seller. The seller is then faced with chasing down the company or figuring out […]
In December, 2017 MetLife revealed that it had failed to pay approximately 30,000 people to whom it owed benefits resulting from pension de-risking transfers. Now, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking into this failure to pay pensions. MetLife is also facing inquiries from several state insurance regulators, including the Superintendent of Financial Services in […]
In a recent interview with PlanSponsor, Jack Cohen, Chairman of the Association of BellTel Retirees, spoke out about the need for protections for retirees in pension de-risking transfers. “It’s really an unfortunate picture, but we also have to be realistic and keep working hard,” Cohen concludes. “I know that de-risking is a phenomenon whose time […]
On January 3, 2018, Assembly Bill, A7071 – AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to providing protection to certain retirees from pension de-risking transactions; and to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to statutorily exempt payments – was referred to the Insurance Committee. This is the first step in working […]
In early October, 2017 International Paper continued its pension de-risking, transferring approximately $1.3 Billion in pension liabilities to Prudential Insurance Company of America through the purchase of a group annuity contract. This purchase impacted 45,000 retirees and beneficiaries. This followed on the heels of an offering of a lump sum buyout in 2016 to 47,000 […]
Attorney Edward S. Stone helps explain some of the difficulties surrounding the NFL Concussion Settlement in this article “The NFL Concussion Settlement, Traumatic Brain Injury, and CTE: Fact, Fiction, and Spin Doctoring”. The Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting Vol. 28, Issue 3, Fall 2017, pp. 8-11. Meanwhile, medical researchers continue to explore new ways to ascertain […]
On October 24, 2017 Pension & Investments reported that the New York Times Co. would purchase group annuity contracts from Massachusetts Mutual life Insurance Company to divest itself of $225 Million in pension liabilities under two of its defined benefits plans. This transfer reportedly affects 3,800 retirees and/or their beneficiaries. MassMutual is scheduled to take […]
On August 3, 2017, the Miami Herald reported that Jose Camacho, the Broward County attorney who specialized in filing structured settlement transfer petitions was sentenced to one year in jail, and ten years of probation. He plead guilty to 14 felony charges after forging over 100 judicial signatures beginning in 2012.
