« Planners and Fees | Main | What’s Up With All Those Tip Jars? »
What Does “NAVA” Stand For?
By JLP | July 10, 2007
It’s funny how research on the internet will lead you from one thing to another and before you know it, you have forgotten what you were researching!
Earlier today I received an email with links to three YouTube videos by Ben Stein about retirement planning (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3). Being a Ben Stein fan, I watched the videos. Each video is about 3 minutes in length and unfortunately none of the videos offer up anything substantial. I did notice that each video ends with a shot of the National Retirement Planning Coalition logo so I went to check out their site.
The NRPC’s website’s (the website is actually RetireOnYourTerms.org) mission is “…to raise public awareness of the need for comprehensive retirement planning. The Coalition recognizes that the need to educate Americans on retirement planning is an ongoing effort and is committed to making this a national priority. The National Retirement Planning Week and other coalition activities will demonstrate that it is possible to “Retire On Your Terms” if comprehensive retirement plans are properly developed and managed.” While checking out their membership page, I noticed that one of the members is the NAVA.
What does ‘NAVA’ stand for?
In the past, NAVA has always stood for the National Association for Variable Annuities. However, you won’t find that term anywhere on the NAVA’s website (at least I didn’t). They still use the name NAVA but now they call themselves The Association for Insured Retirement Solutions. What are “Insured Retirement Solutions?” Variable annuities! I’m guessing this is a PR move due to the fact that variable annuities have kind of taken a beating over improper sales practices, much the way the mutual fund industry did over their trading scandals several years ago.
Anyway, this struck me as kind of funny (I know, I know, I have a weird sense of humor). You can now show off your newfound knowledge to your buddies at the next cocktail party! I’m sure you’ll be the life of that party!
Topics: Miscellaneous | 2 Comments »
July 10th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
Looks like Ben Stein wants us to win our own money
I thought it was interesting how he used a replacement rate of income to calculate how much is needed for retirement (in the the first video). I think the general consensus in the financial planning community is that this is actually a poor metric, since if your income is high and your retirement expenses are low, you’re going to get a number that’s way off. It’s better to use a % of your total assets in retirement, since you’re not going to spend more than you have actually saved.
Annuities may are a good solution (and incidentally the replacement rate calculation is promoted by insurance companies that sell annuities), but within that group there are a lot of options, some more appropriate than others. The problem is that if you pass away early you’re going to leave a lot of money on the table. Money that you could pass on to family members or charities. This may be worth it for the peace of mind it creates, though.
July 10th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
NAVA is like JAVA but without the caffeine.