Deferred Income Annuity Receives the Association’s 2013 Product Innovation Award
October 28, 2013 – NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–New York Life today announced that it received the Retirement Income Industry Association’s first annual “Innovation in Retirement Income Products” award sponsored by Retirement Income Journal. The company was presented the award at the RIIA Fall Conference and Awards Gala in Austin on October 7.
New York Life’s deferred income annuity, the Guaranteed Future Income Annuity* (GFIA), was awarded for “Revolutionizing the Retirement Income Market” by taking a long overlooked product category and transforming it into today’s fastest growing area of the market. Deferred income annuities (DIAs) provide guaranteed income payouts starting at a predetermined date in the future. Until very recently, they were marketed and sold as “longevity insurance” to those who were interested in income at older ages, typically around age 85, when assets typically begin to dwindle. By repositioning the product as a way to help pre-retirees build their own pension-like stream of guaranteed lifetime income at retirement, New York Life identified demand that for decades was stagnant and created a booming market. Before 2011, the deferred income annuity market was a $50 million market. After New York Life launched its GFIA in July 2011 the market has expanded to over $1 billion in sales per year.
“There were several great nominees for this award, but the Guaranteed Future Income Annuity was ultimately an easy choice. In repositioning the deferred income annuity from a very slow seller – longevity insurance – to a product that can help people anticipate retirement with confidence rather than anxiety, New York Life solved part of the income annuity’s behavioral finance issues and injected new energy into the annuity industry at a time when energy was badly needed,” said Kerry Pechter, editor of Retirement Income Journal. “My observation is that many other life insurers have rushed similar products to market in the past year, which is the sincerest form of flattery for the product.” Mr. Pechter said two other insurers were also recognized for their contributions to the annuity industry.
“We are proud to receive RIIA’s innovation award for our GFIA. When we built this product, we recognized that there was a more efficient way to meet the retirement income needs of Boomers,” said Matt Grove, senior managing director, New York Life. “Our sales took off because what we believe about Boomers is true: they expect a more abundant and ultimately more fulfilling retirement, they expect it to last a long time, and they get tremendous peace of mind from having more guaranteed lifetime income. For Boomers, rolling over retirement assets to pre-fund retirement income has become a very appealing solution.”
With this approach, New York Life exceeded $1 billion in GFIA sales in February 2013, with sales growing in leaps and bounds since the GFIA’s July 2011 launch. New York Life remains the deferred income annuity market leader, with 44 percent of the market for second quarter 2013, according to an industry source. **
About the Innovation in Retirement Income Products Award
New this year, the “Innovation in Retirement Income Products” award, sponsored by Retirement Income Journal, recognized select firms for their contributions to excellence and advancement in the income product category across the industry. Visit riia-usa.org
About New York Life
New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States*** and one of the largest life insurers in the world. New York Life has the highest possible financial strength ratings currently awarded to any life insurer from all four of the major credit rating agencies: A.M. Best (A++), Fitch (AAA), Moody’s Investors Service (Aaa), Standard & Poor’s (AA+).**** Headquartered in New York City, New York Life’s family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance. New York Life Investments***** provides institutional asset management and retirement plan services. Other New York Life affiliates provide an array of securities products and services, as well as retail mutual funds. Please visit New York Life’s website at www.newyorklife.com for more information.
**Source: LIMRA, U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey, Participants Report, Deferred Income Annuities, Second Quarter 2013 results.
