Abstract: An option is provided to hedge against the risk of a reduction in retirement benefits or a change in the timing of when such benefits are received. The option may also be used to hedge against reductions in returns from Social Security and retirement savings plans. The option is standardized in that it provides protection against an identifiable set of potential modifications to Social Security retirement benefits and the timing of such benefits as well as reductions in returns from retirement savings plans. At the same time, each option is customized for each purchaser based upon the purchaser's age, income level, investment mix, desired return and other factors.

Abstract: An electronic affiliate marketing system is disclosed that functions as a social networking affiliate advertising rewards (SNAARE) system in which rewards are provided to affiliates for selectively referring potential customers including social networking contacts, to a merchant's web site that allows the affiliate to selectively push multiple offers from one or multiple merchants and/or advertising/marketing firms (i.e., Groupon, Living Social, Amazon, etc. . . . ) to multiple parties and be paid rewards for all referrals that are derived from the initial referral. The electronic affiliate marketing system may optionally include a rating system for rating various parties based upon their previous purchasing history.