IRI praises latest treasury effort on lifetime income

September 12, 2016 at 10:29 AM

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) released the following statement from IRI President and CEO Cathy Weatherford after the Treasury Department issued a final rule to allow pension plan participants to receive a portion of their benefits in the form of an annuity.

"Having access to a steady stream of lifetime income throughout retirement will help Americans ensure they will not outlive their savings — enhancing financial security for retired Americans. The Treasury Department has long understood the importance of lifetime income and has taken great effort over the years to help increase access to lifetime income strategies. The finalization of this rule is just the most recent step as part of their lifetime income initiative.

"This rule will provide pension plan participants with more flexibility when given the option of a lump sum or an annuity. It removes the all-or-nothing choice that these workers must make when given the option, and in doing so, it will hopefully encourage more Americans to take their benefit, at least in part, in the form of a lifetime income stream. Given the importance of lifetime income in helping Americans achieve a financially secure retirement, advancing this partial annuitization rule has been a part of our retirement security policy agenda. We applaud the Treasury Department for advancing this rule, and we thank Mark Iwry for his leadership and determination to finalize this important rule and his ongoing commitment to making lifetime income more readily available to Americans."

Mark Iwry is Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury and is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Retirement and Health Policy for the U.S. Department of Treasury.

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