New Administrative Solution From DST Makes Retirement Plan Income Options More Widely Available

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- DST Systems, Inc., a leading provider of sophisticated information processing solutions to the asset management, insurance, retirement, brokerage, and healthcare industries, today announced a new administrative solution that makes retirement income products more widely available to sponsors of defined contribution retirement plans and their participants.

The new solution, Retirement Income Clearing Calculator ("RICC"), is the industry's first middleware solution designed specifically to support guaranteed retirement income products through traditional recordkeeping platforms.

"These new guaranteed income products are essentially the convergence of investment and insurance benefits into a single product," says Larry Kiefer, Systems Officer for DST Systems. "Current recordkeeping solutions simply aren't suited to handle the attributes of these new offerings. RICC is specifically designed to meet these new demands."

Before the development of RICC, an insurance carrier had no industry alternative to offer guaranteed income products in 401(k) plans except through its own policy administration system. DST's new recordkeeping platform will enable carriers broader distribution of their income products and greater opportunity to bring new solutions to market and allow for greater portability of income products.

DST's charter client for RICC is The Hartford, which recently launched Hartford Lifetime Income option, a patented income solution available through 401(k) plans to provide retirees with guaranteed income for Life.

"Retirement plan sponsors and participants are looking for new solutions and products that provide retirement income that is predictable, guaranteed and easy to understand," says Patricia Harris, vice president, product management for The Hartford's Retirement Plans Group. "DST's RICC enables innovative products like Hartford Lifetime Income to be technologically supported in a way that enhances portability."

RICC's design contemplates a broad array of income solutions, enabling the platform to incorporate any number of functionalities to deliver an income solution to the market. The middleware easily takes all the rules around a guaranteed product, but can just as easily involve mutual funds.

"All of the intelligence that went into building RICC creates a dynamic, innovative place to deliver income solutions," says Mr. Kiefer. "We see it as the platform-of-choice for retirement income products and the perfect industry-wide solution for product manufacturers looking to create and deliver income products more efficiently." 

DST Retirement Solutions offers one of the broadest arrays of high-value retirement outsourcing solutions for financial organizations distributing retirement investment products and serving their customers' retirement needs. Financial service companies, such as mutual funds, banks, insurance companies, and third-party administrators, benefit from our flexible service model that utilizes an end-to-end technology solution and provides support for financial intermediaries. Servicing 4.5 million participants, DST Retirement Solutions supports any plan size and investment vehicle. DST Retirement Solutions is a wholly-owned subsidiary of DST Systems, Inc.

DST Systems, Inc. provides sophisticated information processing solutions and services to support the global asset management, insurance, retirement, brokerage, and healthcare industries. In addition to technology products and services, DST also provides integrated print and electronic statement and billing solutions through DST Output. DST's world-class data centers provide technology infrastructure support for financial services and healthcare companies around the globe. Headquartered in Kansas City, MO., DST is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.

The information and comments in this press release may include forward-looking statements respecting DST and its businesses. Such information and comments are based on DST's views as of today, and actual actions or results could differ. There could be a number of factors, risks, uncertainties or contingencies that could affect future actions or results, including but not limited to those set forth in DST's periodic reports (Forms 10-K or 10-Q) filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All such factors should be considered in evaluating any forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in this press release to reflect future events. Brand, service or product names or marks in this press release are trademarks or service marks, registered or otherwise, of DST Systems, Inc., DST subsidiaries or affiliates, or third parties.

SOURCE DST Retirement Solutions