Administration March 3, 2007

Study: Annuities Add Value to Retirement Plans

March 15, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A study from the National Association for Variable Annuities (NAVA) assesses the value annuities provide when held in qualified retirement plans.

Reported by

Rebecca Moore

In its press release, NAVA said the study found financial advisors feel it is the combination of income guarantees and insurance benefits that annuities provide that is driving their clients to include annuities in qualified plans or IRAs.

Seventy percent of survey respondents cited the death benefit and 61% listed living benefits among the top three reasons for recommending annuities in qualified plans or IRAs, according to the release. Guaranteed lifetime income was cited by 66% of respondents as one of the top three reasons.

According to the study 42% of annuities sold by the respondents were placed into qualified plans. For the industry as a whole, approximately 60% of all annuity sales in 2004 were in qualified plans.

“Because so many people keep the majority of their retirement savings in qualified plans or IRAs, taking advantage of the asset protection annuities offer and the peace of mind they provide may make sense for many Americans,” said Mark Mackey, president and CEO of NAVA, in the release.

NAVA research and publications are available to purchase at www.navanet.org .