2017 Resolution Solutions: Balance and Diversify Existing Financial Plans

As Part of Lincoln Financial Group’s Resolutions Campaign, the Company Helps Consumers Understand How Annuities and Life Insurance Can Complement Financial Plans and Protect Assets Against Retirement Risks

RADNOR, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- As savers start the new year, Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE: LNC) is encouraging Americans to make a resolution that helps them balance and diversify their existing financial plans by incorporating innovative insurance solutions, like annuities and life insurance.

“At Lincoln we encourage all consumers to make it a priority to meet with a financial advisor in the New Year to review investments and retirement plans,” said Kristen Phillips, head of Corporate Marketing and Enterprise Communications for Lincoln. “Consumers may be surprised to learn that incorporating insurance solutions into their financial plans may complement strategies to protect loved ones, maximize savings and provide a source of guaranteed income during retirement.”

As part of Lincoln’s campaign to encourage consumers to set achievable financial planning goals over the course of the year, the company is helping consumers understand the role annuities and life insurance can play in helping to protect wealth, create a steady and dependable income stream throughout retirement and support efforts around legacy planning.

According to Lincoln’s M.O.O.D. (Measuring Optimism, Outlook and Direction) survey, older generations are more concerned about outliving their money than younger generations, with 35 percent of Baby Boomers being most concerned, compared to 29 percent of Gen Xers and 19 percent of Millennials.

An Option for Supplementing Income During Retirement

“Retirement savers now face living longer, the uncertainty of Social Security and an unpredictable market environment,” said John Kennedy, head of Retirement Solutions Distribution for Lincoln Financial Group. “When you consider that fewer savers have access to traditional pensions, guaranteed lifetime income solutions become more vital and can be in the best interest of many consumers as they can help to achieve financial goals and objectives.”

Annuities can provide savers with guaranteed lifetime income they cannot outlive, and can be an essential strategy for those who want to know they will have a predictable stream of income in retirement. Designed to be part of an overall retirement strategy, annuities come in different forms such as fixed and variable, providing contract holders with periodic income payments, through annuitization, in exchange for an initial premium. Savers may also have access to optional riders through the annuity that provide lifetime income benefits for an additional cost. These solutions help close the gap between retirement savings and income needs, and ensure savers know that they can maintain their lifestyle through a long and happy retirement.

With the start of a new year, Americans should plan to speak with a knowledgeable financial advisor about their plan and ways to incorporate guaranteed lifetime income strategies – like annuities – that can help provide enough income to last for their lifetime, especially if they are about to retire.

Factoring in Loved Ones as Part of the Financial Planning Equation

Taking care of family and ensuring they are part of the equation can be an important part of any financial plan. In addition to the obvious death benefits often associated with life insurance some types of policies also provide potential for tax-efficient cash accumulation, and the flexibility to take loans and withdrawals that draw down the policy’s cash value and death benefit to provide a source of supplemental income for needs such as retirement or a child’s college tuition. The loans are not considered income and are tax free, and withdrawals and surrenders are tax-free up to the cost basis.

Further, some forms of life insurance offer options that are designed to help provide protection against costs incurred due to long-term care expenses – helping to secure desired retirement outcomes and protect assets put aside for beneficiaries. Long-term care coverage comes in many different forms including a traditional insurance policy covering long-term care or a hybrid solution that combines long-term care coverage with a universal life insurance policy or fixed annuity.

“What makes life insurance a valuable complement to other investments is its ability to provide wealth protection while offering financial security,” said Andrew Bucklee, head of Insurance Solutions Distribution for Lincoln Financial Group. “Policies can be paired, and if structured correctly, can offer a way to transfer financial legacies via a death benefit with tax efficiencies and cash value growth potential.”

With so many types of life insurance to choose from, consumers need education around the nuances of each. Lincoln encourages consumers to work with an advisor to evaluate their insurance needs and determine the right options.

About 2017 Resolution Solutions

Lincoln Financial Group launched its 2017 Resolution Solutions campaign to help consumers set and achieve realistic financial planning goals over the course of the New Year. The three-part series features tips on maximizing workplace benefits; protecting the ones you love; and preparing for an upcoming retirement.

About the M.O.O.D. of America

Results for the 2016 M.O.O.D. (Measuring Optimism, Outlook and Direction) of America poll are based on three national surveys conducted by Whitman Insight Strategies on behalf of Lincoln Financial Group in March and April 2016.

The M.O.O.D. of America survey was conducted among 2,267 adults 18 years of age and older across the United States, and included a sample of the General Population as well as over-samples to ensure data cuts by key demographic sub-groups that are of particular interest for this research. The final sample includes 405 African Americans, 402 Asian Americans, 402 Latino Americans, and 418 LGBT Americans. The margin of error is ±1.9% at the 95% confidence interval.

About Lincoln Financial Group

Lincoln Financial Group provides advice and solutions that help empower people to take charge of their financial lives with confidence and optimism. Today, more than 17 million customers trust our retirement, insurance and wealth protection expertise to help address their lifestyle, savings and income goals, as well as to guard against long-term care expenses. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE: LNC) and its affiliates. The company had $228 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2016. Learn more at: www.LincolnFinancial.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. To sign up for email alerts, please visit our Newsroom at http://newsroom.lfg.com.

Disclosures:

Lincoln Financial Group® affiliates, their distributors, and their respective employees, representatives, and/or insurance agents do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. Please consult an independent advisor as to any tax, accounting, or legal statements made herein.

Variable annuities are long-term investment products designed for retirement purposes and are subject to market fluctuation, investment risk, and possible loss of principal. Variable annuities contain both investment and insurance components and have fees and charges, including mortality and expense, administrative, and advisory fees. Optional features are available for an additional charge. The annuity’s value fluctuates with the market value of the underlying investment options, and all assets accumulate tax-deferred. Withdrawals of earnings are taxable as ordinary income and, if taken prior to age 59½, may be subject to an additional 10% federal tax. Withdrawals will reduce the death benefit and cash surrender value.

Investors are advised to consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the variable annuity and its underlying investment options carefully before investing. The applicable prospectuses for the variable annuity and its underlying investment options contain this and other important information. Please call 888-868-2583 for free prospectuses. Read them carefully before investing or sending money. Products and features are subject to state availability.

Lincoln variable annuities are issued by The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, Fort Wayne, IN, and distributed by Lincoln Financial Distributors, Inc., a broker-dealer. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company does not solicit business in the state of New York, nor is it authorized to do so.

Contracts sold in New York are issued by Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York, Syracuse, NY, and distributed by Lincoln Financial Distributors, Inc., a broker-dealer.

All contract and rider guarantees, including those for optional benefits, fixed subaccount crediting rates, or annuity payout rates, are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. They are not backed by the broker-dealer or insurance agency from which this annuity is purchased, or any affiliates of those entities other than the issuing company affiliates, and none makes any representations or guarantees regarding the claims-paying ability of the issuer.

There is no additional tax-deferral benefit for an annuity contract purchased in an IRA or other tax-qualified plan.

Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation and its affiliates, including broker-dealer/distributor Lincoln Financial Distributors, Inc., Radnor, PA, and insurance company affiliates The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, Fort Wayne, IN, and Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York, Syracuse, NY. Affiliates are separately responsible for their own financial and contractual obligations.

All guarantees and benefits of the insurance policy are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. They are not backed by the broker-dealer and/or insurance agency selling the policy, or any affiliates of those entities other than the issuing company affiliates, and none makes any representations or guarantees regarding the claims-paying ability of the issuer.

LCN-1674398-010417

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170119005774/en/

Eric R. Samansky
Lincoln Financial Group
T: (484) 583-1431
[email protected]
or
Holly Fair
Lincoln Financial Group
T: (484) 583-1632
[email protected]

Source: Lincoln Financial Group

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