Voya Financial, Inc. announced the launch of "Business-ready" -- the latest addition to the firm's comprehensive lineup of nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) solutions. As a differentiated market offering, Business-ready provides a more simplified NQDC offering designed specifically for smaller-size employers as an added solution for their executive benefits package. Business-ready is available to any size 409A (for-profit) company but has been designed specifically for smaller-size employer, including those with less than 400 employees.

The new solution brings forward the expertise and experience of Voya's Non-Qualified Markets team, while providing many of the core benefits of a more customized solution, including several differentiating features. These include: Apre-built investment lineup: Offering 21 unique asset categories, including equities, fixed income (i.e. short-/intermediate-term bonds, high yield, global) and alternatives (such as real estate) managed by Voya Investment Management. With access to more funds and fund manager support -- including access to different target-dates series -- participants are offered diversification without an overwhelming number of options.

Easy implementation and administration: Providing more-streamlined plan design choices and funding options. This includes mutual funds and corporate-owned life insurance, as well as faster implementation and ongoing plan management tailored to employers on the smaller end of the market. Less complexity: With a focus on providing easier plan management for both employers and their participants, Business-ready offers the core attributes that make a NQDC plan effective for participants without the complexities of a larger custom plan, including flexible contribution and distribution schedules.

As the holistic wellness needs of Americans continue to evolve, innovative compensation benefits are becoming an increasingly important way for employers to attract and reward leadership talent within an organization. As a result, more employers are looking to include NQDC, or executive benefit solutions, into their overall benefit offering; according to industry data, a majority (89%) of employers offer NQDC plans to stay competitive with their benefits packages. Voya has been able to further its innovative, nonqualified compensation executive benefit solution along with its leading qualified plan administration services through an integrated experience that helps advance greater financial security for all participants.

Most recently, the firm added Voya Investment Management's Pomona Investment Fund, an alternative private equity product, as a new option to the Voya NQDC investment lineup. In addition, Voya has launched NQDC distribution portfolios, a first-of-their-kind investment model, developed with Voya Investment Management's Multi-Asset Strategies and Solutions team, designed for individuals looking to closely align their NQDC distribution dates with the investments in their plan. As an industry leader focused on the delivery of benefits, savings and investment solutions to and through the workplace, Voya is committed to delivering on its mission to make a secure financial future possible for all -- one person, one family, one institution at a time.