MassMutual Unveils Annuity Rollover Product

A MassMutual news release said the new offering allows advisors to help clients turn qualified retirement savings into inflation-protected monthly payouts that last their lifetime.

The announcement said that the new service makes available mutual funds and a multiple premium immediate annuity. The program also features a retirement income planning tool that enables advisors to create individualized income management strategies for each client, and to monitor and revise them over time.

The program is currently available only through investment advisor representatives of MML Investors Services, Inc., a MassMutual affiliate, the announcement said.

“This program with mutual funds and a multiple premium immediate annuity provides easy-to-use access to more efficient income management strategies that can involve retirement annuity laddering or ad hoc purchases of annuity income over time,” said Spencer Williams, senior vice president, Income Management Group, in the news release.

According to MassMutual, the RMA has four features:

• Mutual Fund Model Portfolios containing OppenheimerFunds,
• An immediate annuity known as the Flexible Benefits Annuity (FBA) that provides optional COLA protection and allows for the funding of multiple premiums into a single contract through incremental purchases of annuity income benefits with assets transferred from mutual fund model portfolios, a process called retirement annuity laddering,
• A Retirement Income Planning Tool that provides continuous guidance on the appropriate withdrawal amounts from the RMA year after year and provides comparisons on the various income management strategies the client may want to consider, and  
• An administrative system that provides a single check for the client that includes systematic withdrawals from mutual funds along with payouts from the annuity.