January 12, 2012
--- ING’s U.S. Retirement division launched the ING Lifetime
Income Protection Program.
---
The new asset allocation program
will help 401(k) plan participants convert their savings over time into
guaranteed income that lasts throughout retirement.
The ING Lifetime Income Protection
Program is initially being offered to customers in ING’s corporate defined
contribution plans. It provides participants with a series of target-date asset
allocation models, or “portfolios,” that help build critical retirement savings
followed by an income benefit for life, guaranteed by multiple leading
insurers.
ING worked closely with
AllianceBernstein to design a program that leverages the firm’s multi-insurer
platform, while incorporating both guaranteed and non-guaranteed components
into one consolidated program.
The non-guaranteed component
consists of multi-manager, target-date collective investment trust funds.
These funds seek to leverage the benefits of both active and passive
investment strategies from several fund companies. ING’s asset manager,
ING Investment Management, oversees these collective trusts.
AllianceBernstein also serves as an investment manager.
The guaranteed component, which is
triggered at a certain time as a participant gets closer to retirement, is
provided through multiple insurance contracts, each issued by one of three
insurance companies — ING’s own ING Life Insurance and Annuity Company, as well
as AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company and Nationwide Financial. Investors
benefit by having ING provide a single, consolidated program with the multiple
insurance companies splitting the responsibility under the contracts.
This diversifies risk and helps participants receive competitive payouts.