CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust announces a relationship with MetLife to give retirement plan sponsors a new annuity option for their employees as they plan the distribution phase of their retirement. The MetLife Retirement Income Insurance® qualifying longevity annuity contract (QLAC), now available for Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust clients, can become an additional distribution option for plan participants during their retirement years.
Here’s how it works: As participants approach retirement, they can designate a portion of their plan balance, subject to IRS limits, to go to the MetLife QLAC, which excludes that amount from funds used to determine the required minimum distribution people must take after age 70 ½. The participant must begin to receive income payments from the QLAC on or before their 85th birthday.
“Participants face an unanswerable question of how many years they will spend in retirement. Offering this product to our clients supports our philosophy of helping retirement plan participants to and through their retirement,” said Joe Ready, head of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust. “We’re pleased to continue to add options that help people prepare for retirement and move the conversation from accumulation into a discussion about managing and drawing down their retirement savings after they retire. At Wells Fargo, we’re committed to supporting participants with tools, resources and products that help them at this stage of the retirement journey.”
“As the company that introduced longevity insurance into the marketplace, we are pleased that Wells Fargo will be making MetLife’s institutional QLAC available to its 401(k) clients for their plan participants,” said Roberta Rafaloff, vice president, Institutional Income Annuities, MetLife. “Allowing plan participants to take a portion of their retirement savings to protect against the biggest risk in retirement — longevity risk — can help ensure better retirement outcomes.”
Retirement plan participants who work at Wells Fargo client companies adopting this new option will be able to learn about the MetLife product in existing education sessions. They will also be able to call into the Wells Fargo Retirement contact center to get initial information and then continue to speak with a MetLife representative for a more detailed conversation. A MetLife online Retirement Resource Center will also be highlighted on that participant website and in Wells Fargo contact centers.
“We want to give retirement plan sponsors different options to help them meet the goals of their plan; this is why we take an open-architecture approach to our client offering,” said Ready. “This new product gives sponsors another way to help their participants with an out-of-plan option for hedging longevity.”
Recordkeeping, trustee, and/or custody services are provided by Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust, a business unit of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. a bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.
| Investment and Insurance products: | ||||||||||
| Not Insured by FDIC or any Federal Government Agency |
MAY Lose Value |
Not a Deposit of or Guaranteed by a Bank or Any Bank Affiliate | ||||||||
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and its affiliates, including their employees, agents, and representatives, may not provide “investment advice” to any participant or beneficiary regarding the investment of assets in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Please contact an investment, financial, tax, or legal advisor regarding your specific situation. The information shown is not intended to provide any suggestion that you engage in or refrain from taking a particular course of action.
Insurance products are offered through nonbank insurance agency affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company and are underwritten by unaffiliated insurance companies.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $2.0 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,500 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 273,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 27 on Fortune’s 2016 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.
About MetLife
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. Founded in 1868, MetLife is a global provider of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management. Serving approximately 100 million customers, MetLife has operations in nearly 50 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.
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