Lincoln Financial Group today announced that the company’s mutual fund-based, net asset value (NAV) retirement solution, Lincoln Alliance®, is now available to small-to-mid-sized retirement plans with assets of $2 million or more. This move brings a combination of greater flexibility and services to small and medium-sized plans, while providing features generally reserved for large market retirement programs, including fiduciary support and a wide range of investment options. The program is now available for distribution to advisors and Registered Investment Advisors (RIA) through Lincoln Financial Distributors.
"Lincoln is committed to helping plan sponsors motivate their participants to take actions that lead to better retirement outcomes," said Chuck Cornelio, President, Lincoln Retirement Plan Services, Lincoln Financial Group. "By offering this successful program to a broader audience, we are increasing our ability to boost the retirement readiness of participants in every market and size."
The retirement program provides small-to-mid-market plan sponsors and their participants:
- A robust investment line-up including more than 9,000 funds across 610 mutual fund families, no proprietary fund requirements and custom asset allocations models.
- Rigorous fiduciary and compliance support services that include the optional RIA services provided by Ibbotson Associates, Lincoln Financial Group® Fiduciary Services Guarantee, ERISA Section 404(c) support, annual plan reviews and custom investment policy statements.
- Engaging participant experience that includes the Lincoln InStep® Participant Retirement Program delivering comprehensive education to employees through multiple communication channels.
- Simple, flexible administration with the ability to integrate and leverage third-party administrative solutions and rich web resources for plan sponsors and participants.
"Lincoln continues to look for new ways to provide innovative solutions to help plan sponsor and their plan participants achieve success with their retirement plan programs," says Eric Levy, Senior Vice President, Retirement Plan Services, Lincoln Financial Group. "The ability to offer consistent product attributes at all ends of the market allows Lincoln to better position itself to meet the ever-changing needs of our clients."
Investment Services and Flexibility
The Lincoln Alliance® program allows plan sponsors the flexibility to create retirement plan programs based on the unique needs of their participants while providing administration and fiduciary support services. The Lincoln Alliance® program investment services offering includes:
- Lincoln LifeSpan® — an asset allocation model offering a set of combination time- and risk-based models that address a participant’s time horizon for retirement, along with their risk tolerance.
- The investment services are monitored by Lincoln Investment Management, a team of experienced investment professionals that provide specialized investment analysis and insight to employers to help achieve their organization’s retirement plan goals.
- Investment Advisory Services from Morningstar.
- Ibbotson Insight Series — a diversified line-up of quality investment options that spans asset classes and style categories, providing diversification for an effective balance between risk and return.
About Lincoln Financial Group
Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) and its affiliates. With headquarters in the Philadelphia region, the companies of Lincoln Financial Group had assets under management of $164 billion as of June 30, 2011. Through its affiliated companies, Lincoln Financial Group offers: annuities; life, group life, disability and dental insurance; 401(k) and 403(b) plans; savings plans; and comprehensive financial planning and advisory services. For more information, including a copy of our most recent SEC reports containing our balance sheets, please visit www.LincolnFinancial.com.
