Society for Annuity Facts and Education (SAFE), Inc. Elects New Officers
July 2, 2014 by Siobhan McNulty
Washington, DC – The Society for Annuity Facts and Education, Inc. (SAFE) is proud to announce its newly-elected Officers. Sheryl J. Moore has been elected to the position of SAFE President; Lowell Aronoff has been elected to the recently-added position of SAFE Vice President. Both will serve in their positions through December 2015.
Ms. Moore, Founder, Creator, President & CEO of Wink, Inc. and President & CEO of Moore Market Intelligence, has an extensive background in the industry. She has worked tirelessly with legislators and regulators as a proponent of annuities; regularly assists the National Association of Insurance Commissioners; serves as a resource on insurance distribution, marketing, product development, and training; actively participates in the rule-making process for life insurance and annuity products; and has published 200+ articles on indexed life and/or indexed annuity products in countless industry trade journals, newspapers, and magazines.
Lowell Aronoff, Chief Executive Officer, CANNEX Financial Exchanges Limited has devoted most of his thirty-year career to understanding and facilitating the use of annuity products in retirement income portfolios. He has served on the board of NAFA and has worked on retirement income and education committees at IRI, LIMRA and RIIA. Lowell works closely with noted academic retirement income experts, including Moshe Milevsky.
“Sheryl and Lowell are perfectly suited to drive SAFE’s mission to the next level,” noted Mark T. Stone, outgoing SAFE President. Continued Stone, “Collectively, Ms. Moore and Mr. Aronoff will ensure SAFE’s mission to carefully communicate the role of annuities in insuring retirement saving and retirement income by providing accurate, easy-to-understand information about annuities to the American public.”
In addition to the distinguished additions of Ms. Moore and Mr. Aronoff, SAFE’s current Board roster includes:
- Jeremy Alexander, President, Beacon Research
- Pam Heinrich, Esq., Heinrich Law, SAFE Secretary
- Phil Holstein, Principal, Holstein Financial
- Rich Lane, National Director of Sales and Marketing, The Standard
- Rod Mims, Senior Vice President and National Sales Manager, Athene Annuity
- Gregory L. Mitchell, Senior Vice President & Actuary, Guggenheim Insurance Services, SAFE Treasurer
- Kim O’Brien, President & CEO, National Association for Fixed Annuities, (NAFA), SAFE Acting Executive Director
- Patrick M. Simasko Elder Law Attorney, Simasko Law
- Mark T. Stone, Principal & Chief Marketing Strategist, Insurance Insight Group
- Richard J. Tucker, Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Canada Life Reinsurance
- Corey Walther, Chief Operating Officer, Allianz Life Financial Services
Formed in 2012, SAFE was recently granted tax-exempt status as a charitable organization dedicated to educational purposes under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. SAFE serves as a resource for consumers to learn in a fact-based environment safe from sales pressure and bias about annuity products and their role in insuring retirement savings and retirement income. Those wishing to donate to SAFE may do so via http://annuityed.org/safe-donors/pledge-to-support-annuity-education.
Throughout the month of June and continuing through the year, SAFE will work with the Coalition for Annuity Awareness to support National Annuity Awareness Month. Designed to provide awareness and understanding of annuities and their benefits in financial and retirement planning, activities in support of the inaugural National Annuity Awareness Month garnered nearly 20 producer-focused, educational whitepapers, three webcasts and a three-part consumer-facing articles.
Organized as a charitable, educational association, SAFE:
- Provides a forum for the exchange of information among all persons having an interest in annuity products.
- Provides opportunities for education, advancement, and improvement of all aspects of annuities through meetings, seminars, communications, publications, and other programs and activities.
- Provides insurance and financial services professionals, consumers, and the media with an accurate, comprehensive, and unbiased source of information about annuities to help them make informed decisions.
- Is a solid educational resource for insurance and financial professionals and their clients.
- Communicates important facts about all annuity products in order to limit the amount of misinformation each audience (professionals, consumers, and the media) is exposed to.
More about SAFE:
For more information, contact Siobhan McNulty at smcnulty@annuityed.org. Follow SAFE’s activities on Twitter via @AnnuityEd, or visit AnnuityEd.orgto listen to educational podcasts, learn the basics about annuities, utilize a variety of interactive financial calculators, and give SAFE’s Wealth & Income Planner tool a test drive.
