24 Financial Service Companies Form Alliance for Lifetime Income

The objective is to educate Americans about the importance of protected lifetime income solutions.

Twenty-four financial services companies have formed the Alliance for Lifetime Income, whose objective is to educate Americans about the importance of protected lifetime income solutions. The group plans to do this with online and offline content, tools, thought leadership, events and new terminology to simplify this complex topic.

“The Alliance for Lifetime Income believes the possibility of outliving hard-earned savings is a real threat to the financial and emotional well-being of Americans currently in or approaching retirement,” says Colin Devine, educational adviser for the alliance. “Even people who spend their whole lives growing their savings worry they will be unable to maintain their desired lifestyle in retirement.”

The alliance conducted a survey of Baby Boomer and Generation X households and found that 48% of those with people aged 45 to 72 with investable assets between $75,000 and $1.99 million have no protected monthly income other than Social Security.

On the other hand, 88% of protected households say they are confident their retirement money will help them achieve their lifestyle goals, and 77% say they are not worried about their retirement. Further, 80% are confident they will be able to withstand losses in the markets or unexpected expenses. This is true for only 63% of unprotected households.

Among the members of the Alliance for Lifetime Income are AIG, AXA Equitable Life, Franklin Templeton, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, J.P. Morgan, MassMutual, Milliman and Nationwide.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news.

More Than Half of Workers Worry About Their Financial Future

To help allay their fears, MetLife has issued the first of four white papers on financial wellness.

Fifty-three percent of employees worry about their financial future, and 46% feel overwhelmed by financial decisions, according to MetLife’s annual Employee Benefit Trends Survey (EBTS). In response,  MetLife has created a four-part white paper series, “Financial Wellness: Creating a More Productive and Engaged Workforce.”

The first paper, “Deciphering Financial Anxiety,” says the first step to a successful program is to understand employees’ needs. In so doing, a company can better understand how workers’ financial worries are impacting the business. The assessment will uncover the areas where employees need help.

“Knowing the demographic makeup of your work force—age, generation, life stage, marital status, family structure, income and financial circumstances—is vital to designing a relevant financial wellness program,” MetLife says.

The second step, the firm says, is to analyze usage of your existing benefits, such as contribution rates to the retirement plan, average balances and loan frequency/amounts. Likewise, it is important to see whether workers are adequately covered with life and disability insurance.

The third step is to conduct surveys and/or focus groups to ascertain what workers know about finance and money management. “Successfully implemented, an assessment produces quantifiable data that can help define your financial wellness program objectives,” MetLife says.

Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters.

«