Lincoln Financial Group’s (NYSE: LNC) Retirement Plan Services business announces its Lincoln Secured Retirement IncomeSM investment option, a Guaranteed Withdrawal Benefit designed to provide plan participants with guaranteed income for life, and protect savings from market declines while allowing participation in rising markets. The investment option is available as a Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA), a custom target date solution within Lincoln’s LifeSpan® administrative platform or as a standalone investment.

“The Retirement Plan Services industry has focused on accumulation for the past 20 years,” said Chuck Cornelio, President, Retirement Plan Services, Lincoln Financial Group. “Now it’s equally important to have a strategy for converting savings into lifetime income to help people prepare for and live in retirement successfully. With Lincoln’s long-standing success and innovation in the individual retirement income space, we are gratified that the Lincoln Secured Retirement IncomeSM option is being adopted by our plan sponsors as a solution that addresses the need for guaranteed income in retirement.”

How it works

Participant contributions in the Lincoln Secured Retirement IncomeSM option are invested in Lincoln’s LVIP Managed Risk Profile Moderate Fund, a balanced fund that employs a risk management strategy and seeks to lower the volatility of returns and provide capital protection in down markets.

Through this guarantee, the Secured Retirement IncomeSM option determines a participant’s guaranteed lifetime retirement income by the participant’s Income Base. The Income Base is reset annually and equals the higher of the market value of the account or the previous year’s Income Base plus contributions less withdrawals. The Income Base also provides a level of protection against market declines while allowing participation in rising markets. At any time, participants have access to the market value and can withdraw, transfer, take a loan or execute other transactions from the balanced fund as allowed by the plan.

Benefits to participants

The Secured Retirement IncomeSM option gives participants:

  • A solution that can provide guaranteed income for life
  • Protection from down markets through the annual reset of a participant’s Income Base
  • A way to participate in rising markets – even after retirement
  • A simple, convenient way to turn retirement savings into income, and
  • Flexibility and control of the account by having access to the market value1.

Benefits to plan sponsors

The Secured Retirement IncomeSM option includes fiduciary support for plan sponsors, a competitive benefit to employees and a way to transition employees more easily into retirement. Lincoln’s Secured Retirement IncomeSM solution is available to participants of any age.

“At the heart of the solution, Lincoln’s Secured Retirement IncomeSM is a next generation ‘auto income’ plan option that helps provide guaranteed income for life,” said Eric Levy, Head of Product and Solutions Management, Retirement Plan Services, Lincoln Financial Group. “When combined with automatic enrollment, automatic increase and professionally managed portfolios, SRI can complete the automatic suite of solutions while providing growth potential that can act as a hedge against inflation, reduce the risk to downturns in the market, and offer a steady income stream in retirement.”

To learn more about Lincoln Financial Group’s Secured Retirement IncomeSM investment option, visit www.lincolnfinancial.com/SRI.

Lincoln Secured Retirement IncomeSM solutions is offered as a group variable annuity. Amounts contributed to the annuity contract are invested in the LVIP Managed Risk Profile Moderate Fund, a fund of funds with a balanced allocation. The guarantee is provided by a contract between the client/plan sponsor and The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company that provides a plan participant with guaranteed annual retirement income.

THE LVIP MANAGED RISK PROFILE MODERATE FUND IS NOT GUARANTEED OR INSURED BY LINCOLN OR ANY OTHER INSURANCE COMPANY OR ENTITY, AND SHAREHOLDERS MAY EXPERIENCE LOSSES. THE STRATEGY USED BY THIS FUND IS SEPARATE AND DISTINCT FROM ANY ANNUITY OR INSURANCE CONTRACT RIDER OR FEATURES.

Lincoln Investment Advisors Corporation manages the LVIP Managed Risk Profile Moderate Fund with consulting services from Wilshire Associates Inc. and Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC.

This material was prepared to support the promotion and marketing of a variable annuity product. Lincoln Financial Group® affiliates, their distributors, and their respective employees, representatives, and/or insurance agents do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. Any tax statements contained herein were not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding U.S. federal, state, or local tax penalties. Please consult your own independent advisor as to any tax, accounting, or legal statements made herein.

A group variable annuity is a long-term investment product designed for retirement purposes. Group variable annuities contain both investment and insurance components and have fees and charges, including administrative and advisory fees. The annuity’s value fluctuates with the market value of the underlying investment options, and all assets accumulate tax-deferred. Withdrawals may carry tax consequences, including possible tax penalties.

Investors are advised to consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the group variable annuity and its underlying investment option carefully before investing. The applicable variable annuity prospectus contains this and other important information about the variable annuity and its underlying investment option. Please call 888-868-2583 for a free prospectus. Read it carefully before investing or sending money. Products and features are subject to state availability.

Lincoln Secured Retirement IncomeSM group variable annuity contracts (contract form AN-701 and state variations) are issued by The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, Fort Wayne, IN, and distributed by Lincoln Financial Distributors, Inc., a broker-dealer. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company does not solicit business in the state of New York, nor is it authorized to do so.

All contract and rider guarantees, including those for optional benefits, fixed subaccount crediting rates, or annuity payout rates, are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. They are not backed by the broker-dealer or insurance agency from which this annuity is purchased, or any affiliates of those entities other than the issuing company affiliates, and none makes any representations or guarantees regarding the claims-paying ability of the issuer. Not available in New York.

There is no additional tax-deferral benefit for an annuity contract purchased in an IRA or other tax-qualified plan.

About Lincoln Financial Group’s Retirement Plan Services:

For more than 60 years, Lincoln Financial’s Retirement Plan Services (RPS) business has been helping savers boost their retirement readiness through employer-sponsored plans. Our distribution force of more than 400 professionals, including institutional and wholesale distribution channels and advisor-based sales teams, work to provide plan sponsors with retirement plans that not only meet the unique needs of their plan participants but also align with sponsors’ total rewards strategies and help recruit and retain top talent. RPS Retirement Consultants, available onsite, online and by phone, develop long-term one-on-one relationships with savers to help motivate them to take actions that lead to better retirement outcomes. RPS offers personalized services, solutions and education to help plan participants get to and through retirement. The business serves approximately 1.4 million participants through 22,000 plan sponsors with $54 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2014.

About Lincoln Financial Group

Lincoln Financial Group provides advice and solutions that help empower Americans to take charge of their financial lives with confidence and optimism. Today, more than 17 million customers trust our retirement, insurance and wealth protection expertise to help address their lifestyle, savings and income goals, as well as to guard against long-term care expenses. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) and its affiliates. The company had $216 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2014. Learn more at: www.LincolnFinancial.com.

1 Participants can always withdraw any or all of their account value. Excess withdrawals can reduce a participant’s Income Base. Withdrawals may carry tax consequences, including possible tax penalties.