Advisers Hesitant to Recommend Guaranteed Income Options

Eighty-nine percent of all advisers have not recommended a guaranteed income option to their clients, according to research featured in LIMRA’s industry trends blog.

Larger advisers express more interest in these options but few recommend them, LIMRA found. While only 46% of advisers overall are interested in offering an option with a DIA feature, 83% of mega advisers ($500 million or more in DC assets under advisement) say they are interested. Regardless, only about a quarter of these mega advisers have actually recommended a guaranteed income option to a client.

Advisers may be hesitant to offer these options because the products are too new, too complicated, and difficult to explain, especially to consumers, LIMRA says. Employers may also not see the value of income options. LIMRA research shows only two-thirds recognize the importance of offering an in-plan guaranteed income option, and only one-third actually offer the option. But there is a disconnect between employers and employees, as research shows that 8 out of 10 workers are very interested in these options in their DC plans.

LIMRA points out that this is an opportunity for providers to help advisers and employers understand and embrace income options.