New products challenge insurance biz

The financial industry will continue to create a flurry of new products aimed at providing income for investors in retirement, according to research analysts. Insurance companies have created many guaranteed-income products for retirees, but now other financial companies are hurrying to submit similar products, said Laura Varas, research partner with Financial Research Corp. in Boston. She spoke at the Retirement Income Distribution Evolution Summit at the Harvard Club in Boston yesterday. “We’re going to see new products for guarantees that aren’t insurance,” she said. “On the income side, the biggest development will be predictable, but not guaranteed, withdrawals.” Ms. Varas believes that a number of new retirement trends will reshape the industry. For instance, she sees automatic rollovers becoming standardized in the near future. She also believes that advisers and industry leaders will create more tax-efficient withdrawal strategies. The two-day conference is being sponsored by Financial Research Associates LLC of Santa Cruz, Calif.