A large insurer is making its group retirement products available as funding vehicles for cash balance plans.
Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, says the products are The Guardian Choice group variable funding agreement and The Guardian Advantage group variable annuity.
Both products offer several options that can help clients construct an investment portfolio to meet funding obligations for their cash balance plan, the company says.
The options include a traditional fixed rate option, variable investment options across the risk/reward spectrum and a strategically managed option advised by Stadion Money Management, Inc., Watkinsville, Ga., an independent registered investment advisor.
A type of defined contribution plan, cash balance plans guarantee a benefit amount to employees, with the employer bearing the financial risk and maintaining the funds to pay the benefits, defined as a lump sum, or "cash balance," of the employee's account. They were first offered in the early 1990s, and their legal status was affirmed under the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
