American Century Investments has launched what it describes as a “first-of-its-kind online tool” to help retirement plan fiduciaries implement a prudent process to evaluate and choose in-plan guaranteed income products for their clients in line with the SECURE Act.
According to the announcement, the “Income Blueprint” tool simplifies the complex world of analyzing available products and generates a customizable report that compares and scores each one according to plan preferences.
“As the Baby Boomer generation ages, a growing number of people are moving from accumulation of assets to withdrawal of funds at retirement, increasing demand for these products,” notes Glenn Dial, American Century senior retirement strategist. “Overall, interest is high, with 76% of respondents in our 2021 retirement survey showing interest in investment options specifically designed to help them draw income from their plan savings during retirement.”
The Income Blueprint organizes the SECURE Act’s guidance on the selection of a lifetime income provider into three steps:
- The first identifies the type of insurance product based on unique features, such as guarantees, liquidity, growth potential and fee structure.
- The second considers costs in relation to features and benefits. In this step, users rank the importance of plan features to customize their weighting against costs.
- The third and final step considers the financial capability of the insurer. After the product is selected, fiduciaries must obtain written representation from the insurer and periodically review this document, the announcement explains.
In addition, users of the Income Blueprint can create their own personalized library of guaranteed income products and their features. The tool stores uploaded data for each individual product, including insurer documentation, for client-specific product comparisons. All information entered is saved by a specific user.
“As rising demand and high interest lead more retirement fiduciaries to consider in-plan retirement income options, they need clarity to make the best selections and confidence that they’ve fulfilled industry regulations and maintained their safe harbor,” adds Rick Luchinsky, American Century’s co-head of Intermediary Distribution. “We created the Income Blueprint tool to offer clients a holistic extension of their practice to help solve their needs.”
