ING Wins Industry Recognition for Excellence in Retirement Investment Communications

WINDSOR, Conn., April 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ING's U.S Retirement Services business announced today that it earned significant industry recognition for the effectiveness of its retirement-planning communications throughout the 2009 – 2010 awards season.

At the Pensions & Investments 2010 Eddy Awards ceremony in March, ING received a total of eight awards -- five first-place and three second-place. The Eddy Awards, presented annually by Pensions & Investments magazine since 1995, recognize plan sponsors and service providers that epitomize best practices in providing investment education to defined contribution plan participants. Key criteria include the campaign's objective, the communication strategy for reaching the objective and the results achieved.

One of the stand-out pieces, Nestlé USA Inc.'s participant kit, won first place in the "Initial Education" category for corporate plans and included a fee disclosure component that was considered "the best judges saw among all entries in all categories."  Other award-winning ING client materials were developed for Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Hanesbrands Inc., Minnesota State Retirement System, South Carolina Deferred Compensation Program and Virginia Retirement System.

The awards ceremony took place at the Pensions & Investments 18th annual East Coast Defined Contribution Conference in Miami.  At the event, Jillian Verspyck, manager of ING participant communications and education, took part in a panel discussion that focused on the various opportunities and risks that retirement plan executives face when using social media tools.

"This recognition by our industry peers for ING and our clients is very exciting, because it's the end product of more than 90 million annual participant interactions -- each one a learning experience for us," said X. Rick Niu, Chief Marketing Officer for ING U.S. Retirement Services. "Before we can deliver communications that drive these kinds of measurable results, we have to thoroughly understand our clients' needs and their unique participant demographics, and then apply our industry-leading expertise in behavioral finance."

Since September 2009, ING has earned a number of communication honors across all the retirement plan market segments it serves.  In addition to Pensions & Investments, recognition came from the Profit Sharing/401k Council of America; the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators; the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals; the Insurance & Financial Communicators Association; the PLANSPONSOR DC Survey; the Telly Awards; and the Retirement Income Industry Association.

"Our ability to excel in communications for each and every sponsor comes from our sharp customer focus, our pioneering research in behavioral finance, our consistent, integrated approach to communicating about retirement and our commitment to delivering results," said Niu. "We are grateful to the industry for recognizing our track record.  More importantly, we applaud our clients for collaborating on successful employee communication and education initiatives that underscore the value of saving for retirement."

ING's U.S. Retirement Services is part of ING's global insurance operations.  The business holds top rankings in the defined contribution industry and has more than $275 billion in combined assets under administration and management.  It is one of the few providers with the ability to serve all sizes and segments of the defined contribution market, including corporate, government, healthcare, K-12 and higher education.

About ING

ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services to over 85 million private, corporate and institutional clients in over 40 countries. With a diverse workforce of more than 110,000 people, ING is dedicated to setting the standard in helping our clients manage their financial future.

In the U.S., the ING (NYSE: ING) family of companies offers a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients, which includes life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, direct banking, institutional investment management, annuities, employee benefits and financial planning. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves approximately 30 million customers across the nation. For more information, visit www.ing.com/US.

SOURCE ING Americas