New offerings to increase flexibility for individual retirement programs. Jackson National Life has added to its Perspectives family of variable annuities by adding four new “Target Date” portfolios, subadvised by Standard & Poor’s Investment Advisory Services, and one new “Target” portfolio, subadvised by Mellon Capital Management . Jackson says the new options are meant to give advisors more tools to help ensure that their clients receive stable income streams in their retirement years.

“Jackson National Life is committed to delivering customizable solutions that allow advisers to meet the financial needs of a broad range of individual clients,” says Jackson’s chief distribution officer Clifford Jack. “As the responsibility for providing retirement income in the U.S. shifts away from government- and employer-sponsored plans toward individual investors, we must continue to offer advisers the choice and flexibility that they need to build unique retirement programs that will help their clients achieve financial stability during retirement.”

Broadly customized

The new portfolio options are supposed to help manage risk, depending on the individual client’s time horizon, financial situation and investment objectives. The Mellon Target portfolio invests in common stock of 20 companies selected from the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index. The S&P Target Date portfolios provide investment strategies based, in five-year ranges starting in 2010, on the client’s assumed year of retirement. There’s another version for clients planning to retire in the near future.

Jackson has also added a 5% annual benefit increase to its LifeGuard 4 and LifeGuard 5 options. That’s available for the 10th contract anniversary after the effective date of the benefit, or the contract anniversary immediately following the owner's 81st birthday, depending on which comes first.

Steve Kluever, a senior v.p. with Jackson, says the “unbundled architecture” of his firm’s variable annuities products appeals to advisors whose clients need customized retirement products. “In today's retirement marketplace, one of the most significant challenges for advisors is securing a steady stream of retirement income for their diverse client base,” he says. “To meet this need, JNL is continually evaluating its product line to ensure that we are providing innovative optional benefits.”

Lansing, Mich.-based Jackson is owned by Prudential plc, a British insurance company. Prudential plc has nothing to do with Newark, N.J.-based Prudential Financial. –FWR

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