Coalition Strives to Focus the Nation on Their Financial Needs in Retirement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) today announced that National Retirement Planning Week^® 2012 will take place from April 9 to 13. Held during financial literacy month, National Retirement Planning Week^® is led by the National Retirement Planning Coalition--a group of prominent financial industry, education and advocacy organizations that have joined together to increase awareness of the need for comprehensive retirement planning.

National Retirement Planning Week^® 2012 events:

Monday, April 9: The coalition will host a kickoff conference call for reporters and unveil new IRI research findings on Boomers' retirement readiness at 10:30 a.m. eastern time. Call will include a panel representing coalition partners and industry experts. To register, please email Andrew Simonelli at asimonelli@irionline.org.

Tuesday, April 10: The coalition will host a webinar for advisors at 1:30 p.m. eastern time featuring BlackRock Director of Investment and Retirement Education Chad Terry, who will discuss how Social Security can fit into a winning retirement strategy.

Wednesday, April 11: The American Savings Education Council and its partners will host a meeting at 9:00 a.m. eastern time at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington, D.C., to discuss new retirement trends, research and planning tools. Registration required.

The George Washington University School of Business and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System will host a financial literacy seminar at 3:30 p.m. eastern time on the George Washington University campus in Washington, D.C.

Thursday, April 12: IRI and the National Retirement Planning Coalition will release a package of FINRA-reviewed client documents for financial advisors to help clients formulate a plan for a financially secure retirement.

Additional events will be added as details become available.

The National Retirement Planning Coalition recognizes that the need to educate Americans on retirement planning is an ongoing effort and is committed to making retirement planning education a national priority. The National Retirement Planning Week^® and other coalition activities will demonstrate that it is possible to "Retire On Your Terms" if comprehensive retirement plans are properly developed and managed. To support these education efforts, the coalition maintains a year-round website--www.retireonyourterms.org--offering the latest resources to both consumers and financial professionals to help them stay focused on long-term financial goals. Throughout the week, additional materials will be made available at: www.retireonyourterms.org.

The coalition is headed by the IRI, and includes America Saves, American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), American Savings Education Council (ASEC), Americans for Secure Retirement (ASR), Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA), Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), Financial Services Institute (FSI), Financial Services Roundtable (FSR), Jump$tart Coalition, National Association for Fixed Annuities (NAFA), NICSA, Retirement Income Industry Association (RIIA), The American College, The Aspen Institute, and the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement.

About the Insured Retirement Institute: The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) is a not-for-profit organization that for twenty years has been a mainstay of service, commitment and collaboration within the insured retirement industry. Today, IRI is considered to be the authoritative source of all things pertaining to annuities, insured retirement strategies and retirement planning. IRI proudly leads a national consumer education coalition of nearly twenty organizations and is the only association that represents the entire supply chain of insured retirement strategies: our members are the major insurers, asset managers, broker dealers and more than 150,000 financial professionals. IRI exists to vigorously promote consumer confidence in the value and viability of insured retirement strategies, bringing together the interests of the industry, financial advisors and consumers under one umbrella. IRI's mission is to: encourage industry adherence to highest ethical principles; promote better understanding of the insured retirement value proposition; develop and promote best practice standards to improve value delivery; and to advocate before public policy makers on critical issues affecting insured retirement strategies and the consumers that rely on their guarantees. Visit www.IRIonline.org today to experience the vast resources of the Insured Retirement Institute for yourself. 

- END -