ING Introduces Two New 'Fixed-Index' Annuities

With the goal of helping consumers better prepare for retirement, ING introduced two new fixed-index annuity products to the marketplace on Monday, June 14. ING Select Multi-Index 5 and ING Select Multi-Index 7, both modified single-premium deferred annuities issued by ING Life Insurance and Annuity Company, offer what the company describes as "an alternative to traditional fixed annuities through an index strategy that can link a client's potential for annual growth to the performance of up to four well-known market indexes."

Investors who purchase ING Select Multi-Index 5 or ING Select Multi-Index 7 are given the choice to link their annual interest crediting, in part, to any combination of the S&P 500 Index, S&P MidCap 400 Index, Russell 2000 Index and EURO STOXX 50 Index, as well as a fixed-rate strategy. Investors are not invested directly in these indexes.

"Now more than ever, baby boomers are being cautious with their retirement savings, but many want more upside potential than what they can earn from many traditional fixed investments without risking their principal," said Lynne Ford, CEO of ING Financial Solutions, in a statement. "ING Select Multi-Index 5 and ING Select Multi-Index 7 give both downside protection and some upside potential to benefit from market gains. With multiple indexes and the ability to choose the mix of how the money is allocated, these products can fit well with a variety of retirement portfolios."

In late 2009, ING's U.S. operations merged its annuity and rollover businesses into a new business unit called ING Financial Solutions. ING Select Multi-Index 5 and ING Select Multi-Index 7 were developed as part of a suite of simpler retirement solutions began rolling out earlier this year. Since then, several new products, including a multi-manager mutual fund custodial IRA account, a registered fixed annuity and a lower-cost variable annuity have been introduced.

ING will still continue to offer non-registered fixed index annuities issued by ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Company and ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of New York. According to Ford, the new products complement the company's current fixed-index offering.

"The expertise we have gained in the non-registered fixed-index market has allowed us to identify new opportunities for our registered products where our non-registered products are not being sold," Ford said in statement. "Offering registered fixed-index annuities gives us products that we can make available to many banks and full-service brokerage firms, which are looking for more conservative solutions for their clients in this challenging environment."

Read a story about ING's Variable Annuity released recently from the archives of InvestmentAdvisor.com.