MetLife to Focus Marketing Effort on 'Fragile Risk Zone'

MetLife Investors, which distributes MetLife products to independent producers, has launched "Solving the Mystery of Lifetime Income," a marketing campaign designed to help financial professionals address their clients' need for retirement income.

The campaign highlights the longevity risks clients face in retirement, how these risks can affect retirement, and how a variable annuity can help mitigate risks by providing lifetime income.

One key educational piece of the campaign is a white paper written by Moshe A. Milevsky, Ph.D., associate professor of finance at York University's Schulich School of Business and executive director of the IFID Centre in Toronto. The white paper addresses the concept of sequence of returns and how the success of a retirement income strategy can greatly depend on when a person decides to start taking income.

"A market downturn during the 'Fragile Risk Zone,' the years right before and after retirement, can have a significant adverse effect on Baby Boomers' retirement income," said Elizabeth M. Forget, senior vice president, MetLife, who is responsible for marketing and product management for MetLife Investors.

"This campaign helps financial advisers teach their clients that they can't 'invest away' financial risks—they must insure against them," she said. The "Solving the Mystery of Retirement Income" campaign materials are available to financial professionals at wirehouses, broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have selling agreements with MetLife Investors.