John Wasik, award-winning author of 13 books and personal finance columnist for Reuters, has issued this report with Demos, titled How Safe Are Your Savings? How Complex Derivatives Products Imperil Seniors’ Retirement Savings.  Fair Contracts Intern Dylan Hanson and Citizen Works contributed to the background research.

Wasik writes:

Few investors fully understand what they’ve been sold, or understand that these products are like a ticking time bomb. When these products are sold to seniors, as they frequently are, it threatens their retirement security, as the investments are loaded with risky derivatives and contain no viable income guarantees. Even when investors discover that they’ve lost money, the system is designed to thwart efforts to recover such losses.

 

Be sure to see the recommendations for better disclosure and regulation beginning on page 12.  Hard copies of the report are available from Demos.