Lincoln Financial Debuts Retirement Education Program

Lincoln Financial Group unveiled Lincoln InStep, an educational program for retirement plan participants designed to raise advisors awareness of products, services and strategies to help defined benefit contributors maximize their retirement savings investments.

Company officials said InStep will deliver a combination of educational content, products, services and multimedia tools to help employees embark on their retirement savings plans and make informed investment decisions as they build their portfolios.

At a time when more people than ever are counting on social security as their expected primary source of retirement income, financial services firms and advisors are all stepping up their efforts to raise the fiscal IQs of American workers.

"We are dedicated to delivering plan-level support for plan sponsors while helping participants through all stages of their retirement planning," Chuck Cornelio, president of Lincoln's defined contribution group, said in a statement. "The Lincoln InStep program is another example of the many ways that Lincoln is motivating participants to take actions that lead to better retirement outcomes."

The program starts with the basics of retirement planning and helps participants identify new ways to increase their retirement savings before moving on to more complex topics such as asset allocation, risk management and retirement income options and strategies.

Company officials said the program takes into account all the events and circumstances that will impact workers throughout their lives including job changes, marriage, having children, buying homes and saving for college tuition.

"The high-touch program helps plan sponsors achieve their plan goals and objectives while providing plan participants with custom tools that best suit their needs including in-person online and print resources," the company said.

According a study released last month by the Associated Press and the LifeGoesStrong.com lifestyle website, 57% of Baby Boomers lost a significant portion of their retirement savings when the market cratered in the middle and latter part of the last decade.

Moreover, 42% of the 1,160 Boomer surveyed said that those losses directly led to their decision to delay retirement.