NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Institutional Retirement Income Council (IRIC), a non-profit think tank for the retirement income planning community, today announced the publication of four white papers to help plan sponsors navigate the tricky waters of adopting retirement income solutions and products for their defined contribution (DC) retirement plans.
“With growing interest in retirement income solutions, the need for plan sponsors and advisors to fully understand the various products available in the marketplace and the process of adding a solution to a retirement plan has never been greater,” said Michelle Richter, executive director of IRIC. “We are approaching a tipping point in the industry. With the SECURE Act breaking down the primary barriers to adoption of retirement income products, we are seeing increased interest from advisors and sponsors regarding the types of available products, the process to add products, and the benefits to adoption. In producing these papers, our goal is to arm employers, consultants, and advisors with the information they need to ultimately select and implement the most appropriate solution for their employees.”
The white papers were written by various IRIC advisors and consultants with extensive experience working with employers on developing ways to provide secure retirement income for plan participants. The four papers are:
Exploring the Process of Adding an Income Solution to Your Retirement Plan: The paper addresses hesitation regarding the adoption of retirement income solutions and dissects the decision-making process of adding a solution between settlor functions and fiduciary decisions. The desired result is for employers and advisors to understand there are advantages for the employer when adopting an income solution and that the fiduciary process is not hard to navigate. The paper also describes different options available and explores the various advantages and disadvantages of retirement income products and solutions. Finally, the paper describes how plan sponsors can utilize the SECURE Act fiduciary safe harbor available for guaranteed products in the DC system.
Cumulative Benefits of Retirement Income Solutions in Our DC System: Research shows that plan participants often benefit when their employer offers a guaranteed income solution in their 401(k) plan. This paper discusses those benefits while exploring the advantages to employers and to society in general when guaranteed income is offered and used. The paper explains how guaranteed income in a DC plan is a win, win, win, win proposition – plan participants have a more secure retirement, sponsors are able to meet their HR goals, policy objectives are advanced, and service providers meet their corporate mission and mandates through expanded use of guaranteed income products in the DC industry.
From Auto-Enrollment to Auto-Escalation to Auto-Income: How DC Plan Defaults Can Evolve to Improve American Retirement Security: Auto enrollment achieved higher level of participation. Auto Investing (QDIA) achieved appropriate asset allocation on or near the investment efficient frontier. Auto Escalation achieved a higher level of retirement readiness. The next evolution in the DC industry is Auto-RISE - Automatic Retirement Income Security for Everyone. This paper discusses the various ways retirement income solutions and products can be integrated into a plan’s QDIAs. Service providers, advisors and sponsors can greatly advance America’s retirement security by thoughtful integration of income products and solutions within the plan’s QDIA. The paper explores how this has been accomplished to date and how innovation will lead to an evolution in default investment options in the DC industry.
Delivering Additional Income Through Lower-Cost Products and Services Available in the Defined Contribution Industry: This paper discusses the additional retirement income security plan participants receive when offered good investments and good income products and solutions in their DC retirement plan. For example, due to the compounding effect over an employee’s working career and time in retirement, small pricing advantages and slightly lower fees in institutional investments and institutional income products provides a very significant increase in retirement security. The paper demonstrates how plan sponsors will be astonished by the increase in income, security and retirement readiness that institutional income solutions provide.
All of the white papers can be accessed here.
About The Institutional Retirement Income Council
The Institutional Retirement Income Council (IRIC) is a non-profit, membership-based organization of industry advisors who are dedicated to sharing best practices, informing about legislative and regulatory issues, and facilitating solutions for plan sponsors and their participants. IRIC's mission is to facilitate the culture shift of defined contribution plans from supplemental savings programs to programs that provide retirement security. By providing a forum for insightful, solutions-oriented thought leadership on institutional retirement income, the IRIC is promoting the need for retirement income adequacy for defined contribution plan participants.
Media contact:
Ed Emerman
609.240.2766
eemerman@eaglepr.com
