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Products October 25, 2010
BlackRock, SunGard Team up on Retirement Income Solution
BlackRock, Inc. and SunGard have announced a solution that will
support the use of funds generating lifetime retirement income within
corporate defined contribution (DC) plans.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
Through the SunGard Global Network (SGN), the BlackRock-SunGard solution will create an “income window” for DC plan recordkeeping firms — “providing seamless integration of retirement income generating funds into a plan’s administrative and transaction processes,” a press release said. The income window solution is among the first to meet information-sharing standards recently developed by The SPARK Institute for annuity based, lifetime income funds in retirement plans (see SPARK Releases Final Data Standards for Retirement Income Solutions).
“The income window, which can be used by any recordkeeping firm, including third party administrators and advisers using SunGard’s Omni and Relius platforms, will provide access and the ability to trade lifetime retirement income funds through an integrated link to the SGN,” said Bob Ward, Chief Operating Officer of SunGard’s Wealth Management Business, in the announcement.
“Many plan sponsors have found it challenging to add funds specifically designed to help employees transform their accumulated retirement assets into secure retirement income,” said Chip Castille, Managing Director and head of BlackRock’s US & Canada Defined Contribution Group. “Now that barrier is being removed.”