Paper Addresses Selection of Retirement Income Products

January 22, 2013 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Retirement plan sponsors and participants are increasingly focused on how to make participant retirement savings last a lifetime.

To address this need, product providers are offering a growing number of institutionally priced retirement income products. For plan sponsors, understanding the different types of products available is the first step toward selecting the right retirement income product for their participants.   

The Institutional Retirement Income Council has issued a paper that presents a framework to organize the major types of retirement income products available in the marketplace and examine the merits of each in the context of the goals and objectives of a typical plan sponsor, as well as steps plan sponsors should follow as they explore retirement income products for their participants.   

Although it will likely be the first time most plan sponsors have considered an option that involves guarantees and annuity features, many of the points in the process are the same as in the selection of mutual fund options for the plan. The sponsor must follow the prudent steps necessary in the selection of any option, and the process must be well-documented.   

The Council’s paper is here.

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