Retirement income continued its industry march on Thursday with Empower announcing a host of new partnerships with asset management and insurance companies to offer several in-plan and out-of-plan guaranteed retirement income products for plan participants and investors.
The Colorfado-based company said it will team with American Century, TIAA, and Great Gray Trust Company in the endeavor.
More specifically, the new offerings, which it said will launch “in the coming weeks,” will include:
- Managed accounts with a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit featuring Income America by American Century Investments
- A new target date fund series featuring American Funds and TIAA’s Secure Income Account with flexPath managing the glide path allocations and the collective investment fund provided by Great Gray Trust Company, LLC
- A managed spend-down strategy and proprietary variable annuity featuring SmartWithdrawa and Empower SecureFoundation
- Access to an annuity marketplace that offers a wide range of out-of-plan annuity offerings through Blueprint Income
“The purpose of any individual’s retirement plan is to create an income stream they can rely on when their working years are behind them,” Empower President and Chief Operating Officer Rich Linton said in a statement. “The great opportunity in this new set of offerings from Empower is that it brings together the expertise of so many firms to deliver the promise of retirement income to the 18 million Americans we serve today.”
Citing its own research, the Colorado-based company said approximately 60% of plan sponsors say they will likely focus more on helping participants convert their plan account balances into income.
Additionally, more than 80% of advisors and consultants believe a defined contribution (DC) plan should offer services supporting plan participants’ retirement income needs. Additionally, legislation — specifically the SECURE Act of 2019— includes provisions to facilitate the use of guaranteed income options in retirement plans.
In survey results, retirement plan participants express a range of concerns about income guarantees as they age.
For example, in the latest Empowering America’s Financial Journey™ study, 61% of respondents expect that Social Security will be unavailable to them or will play a diminished role in supplying income in retirement. Just six in 10 Americans are confident their savings and investments will last until age 90.2.
