MetLife Announces New Income Planning Tool
NEW YORK, NY, August 21, 2003 – Americans wondering if they'll have enough money to last throughout the 30 or more years they will likely live in retirement now have a new resource at their disposal: MetLife's Income Meter™.
MetLife Retirement & Savings announced today the launch of a new income planning tool to provide individuals with a quick, nearly effortless way to calculate how much income their savings will generate and how long that income will last. Unlike the retirement calculators offered by a number of investment companies that focus on saving for retirement, the Income Meter is designed to help individuals adequately prepare for living in retirement by helping them calculate the monthly income their retirement savings will provide.
The online Income Meter is designed to jump-start the planning process for people who have done little or no in-depth retirement planning. Try it for yourself. Copy and paste the following address into your Web browser to access the online Income Meter at http://myretirement.metlife.com.
Features of the Income Meter include:
The Income Meter first queries users on whether they are still saving or about to retire and then guides them to the appropriate planning tool.
- For those still saving for retirement, the tool helps them calculate how much they should save to provide their desired level of income.
- For individuals getting ready to retire, the calculator provides information on the amount of income they can expect from their savings and how long it will last.
In addition, the Income Meter uses actuarial data to illustrate the likelihood of the user outliving his or her retirement savings. After calculating individual estimates, the Income Meter educates users on the benefits of income annuities, using a monthly payment comparison table to show how income annuities eliminate longevity risk and guard against overly conservative planning.
There are widespread misconceptions among Americans about how much time they will spend in retirement and how much income they will actually need once they stop working. According to the MetLife Retirement Income IQ Test, commissioned by the MetLife Mature Market Institute earlier this summer, while many are saving for retirement, only 32% of pre-retirees are actively calculating how much is required to live comfortably in retirement.
Survey respondents underestimated both income needed during retirement as well as life expectancy and longevity risk (i.e. the likelihood of outliving their assets). More than half of respondents believed they would need less than 50%, some as low as 20%, of pre-retirement income each year in order to enjoy a comfortable retirement, while some retirement experts set the benchmark as high as 100% or more. In addition, only 4 in 10 respondents believed that an individual at age 65 has a 50% chance to live beyond the life expectancy of age 85; likewise, only 2 in 10 respondents realized that longevity risk is the greatest financial risk facing retirees. To test your Retirement Income IQ, go to www.metlife.com.
"Results from the Retirement Income IQ Study point to the need for people to reconsider the longevity risk of their retirement plans," says Dorit Murciano, vice president, MetLife Retirement & Savings. "The Income Meter goes beyond calculating how much of a nest egg they can accumulate by giving them the data they need to create a real goal-oriented savings plan. Additionally, it offers strategies for converting savings to income that can maximize spending and minimize the risk of their money running out."
A link to the Income Meter will be featured on the Web site of the American Savings Education Council (ASEC) to help educate the public about the importance of retirement planning. ASEC is a coalition of private- and public-sector institutions that undertakes initiatives to raise public awareness about what is needed to ensure long-term personal financial independence. Earlier this year, ASEC and the MetLife Mature Market Institute co-hosted a series of financial education events entitled, "Pass or Fail? What Consumers Don't Know About Retirement Income and What the Media Has Been Telling Them." The online Retirement Income IQ Test and the online Income Meter have been created to help individuals focus on critical issues that they will face in retirement. Visit them at www.asec.org.
MetLife Retirement & Savings delivers integrated retirement programs, investment management solutions for defined contribution and defined benefit plans, and innovative retirement income security products for individuals. MetLife, a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), is a leading provider of insurance and other financial services to individual and institutional customers. The MetLife companies serve approximately 12 million individuals in the U.S. and provide benefits to 37 million employees and family members through their plan sponsors. Outside the U.S., the MetLife companies have insurance operations in 12 countries serving approximately 8 million customers. For more information about MetLife, please visit the company's Web site at www.metlife.com.
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