Products October 26, 2010

Principal Offers Retirement Litmus Test and White Paper

The Principal Financial Group created the “Savings-to-Employment Income Ratio” to help investors estimate the health of their retirement savings; a white paper was written to complement the tool.   
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The Savings-to-Employment Income Ratio is a litmus test for estimating the health of an investor’s retirement savings and requires only a few pieces of information to calculate. 

The paper, “When the Destination is Retirement: A Way to Keep Investors’ Plans on Track,” written by Noelle Fox, senior investment and product analyst at The Principal, is intended to help financial professionals use the litmus test to its fullest capacity. It analyzes the parts of the Savings-to-Employment Income Ratio and offers suggestions as to what investors can do to change the factors in their control, such as:

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  • The savings rate
  • The age at retirement
  • The income replacement ratio

“This paper provides resources for financial professionals to help investors evaluate how well they are doing in saving for retirement and possible ways to revise their strategy so they have more confidence about their financial futures,” said Drew Denning, vice president of the retiree services division at The Principal.

The white paper can be read here.

Products October 26, 2010

BPAS Upgrades DC Web Site

BPAS, a provider of defined contribution (DC), actuarial, institutional trust and flex services, has upgraded its Web site.
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The upgrades, which are being phased in over the next few months, are being launched in partnership with Envisage Information Systems, LLC, according to a news release from the Utica, New York-based BPAS.

BPAS uses the SunGard OmniPlus daily valuation system, and has utilized the PDS web product (acquired by SunGard) since 1998.   “By partnering with Envisage”, says Barry Kublin, President of BPAS, in the announcement, “we acquired robust adviser Web capabilities, enhanced analytical data for users, and most importantly, more control over the entire system to support the myriad of plan types we support.”

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By offering rapid, secure, and bi-directional movement of data, the Enveritus suite allows BPAS to continue using its OmniPlus recordkeeping system, while the Web application communicates with Omni for all inquiries and transactions, the news release said.

“In addition to delivering a major aesthetic overhaul, the  new site puts our clients and partners in a greater position of control than ever before, with features such as plan-level interactive messaging, book-of-business reporting, cross-plan searches, and research on recent transactions available at their fingertips,” said Paul Neveu, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, in the news release.

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