The Dallas Morning News

Second in a series By SCOTT BURNS and LAURENCE J. KOTLIKOFF

In his day, Andrew Carnegie was the world's richest man. He was also one of the most humble and generous people to ever walk the Earth. He attributed much of his success to others. Following his dictum – "The man who dies rich dies disgraced" – he donated his entire estate to charity.

Carnegie was particularly passionate about education and educators. In 1918, he endowed the Teachers Insurance Annuity Association, now known as TIAA-CREF, to help ensure the financial well-being of our nation's teachers.

By SCOTT BURNS and LAURENCE J. KOTLIKOFF

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

President Harry Truman's famous line applies to more than politics. Applied to retirement investing, it suggests that poor households should avoid investing in stock. The poor, after all, have fewer assets and would seem less able to absorb losses.

But when it comes to personal finance, conventional wisdom is often at odds with basic economics. From an economics perspective, the poor are in a better position to invest in stocks than the rich.

Consumption smoothing puts savings goals within reach

By SCOTT BURNS and LAURENCE J. KOTLIKOFF

We've criticized conventional financial planning from the beginning of this series. We've said the industry engages in target practice, promotes consumption disruption, solicits risk, provides quick but erroneous "solutions," and makes outrageously bad saving and insurance recommendations.

In short, we've suggested that advice-givers, particularly large marketing-driven financial institutions, are engaging in financial malpractice.

by Scott Burns

If you’re retired and are interested in having a higher income for as long as you live, you have two main options.

You can buy a life annuity. This will provide you with an income, with or without inflation adjustments, for as long as you live. But it will leave nothing for your heirs.

Or you can buy a variable annuity with a variety of living-benefit provisions. These will guarantee a lifetime income. The income will be less than a lifetime annuity, but you’ll have a modest chance of future increases and you may leave something for your heirs.