ACS Links Up with WMSI

Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. today said it will “leverage the technology of  Wealth Management Systems Inc. (WMSI) ” to offer access to a suite of distribution options that allow retirement plan participants to research and select the financial institution to which they will roll over their retirement assets.   The announcement comes on the heels of a similar announcement yesterday by Hewitt Associates, another Human Resources Outsourcing (HRO) provider (see  Hewitt Signs on to WMSI IRA Rollover Service ).

The new ACS offering works jointly with client company websites to help plan participants evaluate a variety of IRAs, make a selection, and open an IRA account in real time, according to a press release.  

“Because employees continue to be increasingly mobile, making their retirement assets easily transportable is more important than ever,” said Don Bartolai, ACS vice president, Global Benefits Outsourcing, Human Capital Management Solutions. “With this offering, we have created a centralized IRA marketplace, where participants can compare various IRA options and choose providers that meet their retirement needs. This allows plan sponsors and administrators to facilitate a simple decision-making process and allows participating employees to pursue a more secure retirement.”

ACS’ integrated web-based interface, powered by WMSI, provides retirees with the option of purchasing lifetime income annuities through Income Solutions, an annuity purchase program of Hueler Investment Services, Inc.   Income Solutions allows modeling of various immediate annuity scenarios, requesting quotes that reflect institutional pricing, and selection of an annuity provider through a competitive quoting process (see  Hueler Unveils Stable Value Databank ).

ACS and WMSI are separate and unaffiliated entities.