Prudential and New York-based insurer MetLife Inc., the two largest U.S. insurers, and money managers including BlackRock Inc., based in New York, have been developing investment options that let workers contribute to an annuity within their 401(k)s.
IRA Option
Vanguard Group Inc., a mutual-fund firm based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, said income guarantees should be designed to compliment IRAs, according to Linda Wolohan, a spokeswoman for the company, in an e-mail. That's because more than 80% of Vanguard's participants who are over age 60 exit their employers' 401(k) plan within three years of leaving a job, Wolohan said.
One pending bill, introduced in December by Senators Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat, Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican, and Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat, would require corporate retirement plan sponsors to disclose how much monthly income employees' portfolios would generate in retirement.