MetLife Expands Collaboration with Micruity for Universal Digital Retirement Platform and Announces New Annuity Solution
MetLife Inc. and Micruity Expand Collaboration for Retirement Income Solutions
MetLife Inc., a leading provider of institutional income annuities, has announced an expanded collaboration with Micruity, a retirement technology solutions firm, for the development of MetLife’s Universal Digital Retirement Platform. This new solution aims to provide plan sponsors with enhanced tools for education, planning, and annuity purchasing, integrating seamlessly with existing employment benefit systems, third party administrators, and recordkeeping systems.
Through this collaboration, plan sponsors will have increased access to immediate income annuities, along with educational materials on retirement income-related topics. These options can be easily incorporated into defined contribution plans, offering participants a comprehensive approach to retirement planning.
Roberta Rafaloff, vice president and head of institutional income annuities at MetLife, expressed excitement about the partnership, stating, “By augmenting the retirement planning tools available to plan participants through Micruity’s integrations, we are making it easier for participants to learn about and access retirement income solutions.”
The announcement comes at a time when plan sponsors, advisers, and recordkeepers are actively seeking ways to address the retirement income needs of participants. A recent survey conducted by DCIIA’s Retirement Research Center revealed that 86% of recordkeepers are looking to add new retirement income solutions in response to plan sponsor demand.
Currently, 61% of recordkeepers offer in-plan guaranteed income annuity options to plan sponsors, while 39% do not offer any annuity options. In comparison, 94% of recordkeepers provide fixed dollar withdrawal options for participants.
The collaboration between MetLife and Micruity emphasizes the flexibility and efficiency of their expanded offering. Trevor Gary, CEO of Micruity, highlighted the adaptability of their infrastructure, stating, “Our flexible infrastructure means that we can efficiently build out new products and enhancements for our clients, iterating on components we previously configured for MetLife on Fidelity’s Guaranteed Income Direct and State Street Global Advisors IncomeWise platforms.”
In a related development, T. Rowe Price has introduced a patent-pending solution called the five-dimensional framework, designed to assist plan sponsors in evaluating retirement income options. This framework, developed by T. Rowe Price’s global multi-asset research team and global retirement strategy team, provides a comprehensive approach to assessing the trade-offs between various retirement income products.
Sebastien Page, head of global multi-asset and chief investment officer at T. Rowe Price, expressed optimism about the framework, stating, “It is our hope that the 5-D framework and supporting research will become a standard for how in-plan retirement income solutions are evaluated. Our team has created an unbiased and uniform model that allows plan sponsors to visualize, compare, and contrast retirement income products.”
Overall, these collaborations and innovations in the retirement income space reflect a growing emphasis on providing participants with comprehensive and personalized solutions for their retirement planning needs.