Prudential IncomeFlex® Product Hits $100 Million Milestone -- Innovative Retirement Plan Option Outsells Competition To Capture Largest Market Share

Newark, NJ (PRWEB) September 18, 2008

Introduced in January 2007 to help older workers manage the extraordinary new risks they face as they prepare for and move into retirement, Prudential Retirement's IncomeFlex® has attracted more than $100 million in assets. Prudential Retirement is a business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU).

The $100 million milestone was achieved in about 18 months, as Prudential Retirement leads the industry with over 70 new clients having added IncomeFlex to their retirement plans. IncomeFlex is an in-plan investment option with a guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit, combining the ability for the individual participant to capture market gains and remain protected against downturns, without losing the flexibility to control fund assets before and during retirement.

"Plan sponsors and participants are aggressively seeking in-plan offerings that simplify investment decision-making and offer a guaranteed income stream once a participant leaves the workforce," said Brent Walder, vice president and actuary, Prudential Retirement. Prudential's IncomeFlex not only meets these needs but also provides crucial protections against market risks," said Walder.

An IncomeFlex client, Mitsubishi International Corp.'s vice president of human resources, Jil Galloway agreed, "We were looking for an in-plan withdrawal benefit that features flexibility and protection and Prudential's IncomeFlex best suited our retirement plan's needs. Mitsubishi International is now better able to help our dedicated employees obtain a more secure retirement."

With Prudential IncomeFlex, plan participants can select from multiple investment funds--ranging from conservative to more aggressive. Each fund has an "income base" that increases with employee contributions and provides the foundation for the guaranteed lifetime paycheck. Each also has a "market value" that fluctuates with the performance of the equity and bond markets.

The withdrawal benefit can never fall below what is guaranteed by the fund's "income base," and it may increase based on the fund's "market value."

Specifically, Prudential IncomeFlex delivers:

• Guaranteed Income for Life - Prudential IncomeFlex offers a guaranteed yearly paycheck for life, even if the participant's account balance becomes depleted. Starting at age 65, participants can withdraw paychecks equal to 5% of their IncomeFlex income base. They may elect to withdraw paychecks at age 55, with paychecks equal to 4% of the income base for life. If the participant's account balance exceeds the income base due to strong investment performance, the participant's future lifetime paycheck may even increase. Participants can also opt to have their income continue for their spouse.
• Income Protection From Market Downturns - Along with protecting a

participant's retirement income, IncomeFlex also guarantees that the participant's income base will continue to grow, regardless of market performance. Beginning at age 50--and continuing to the time a lifetime paycheck amount is locked in (up to age 70)--participants are guaranteed that their income base will grow at an annualized minimum of 5%.

• The Opportunity to Capture Market Upswings - To help participants outpace inflation, IncomeFlex investors can take advantage of yearly performance gains, which are calculated on each participant's birthday. The income base--the basis for the guaranteed

retirement paycheck once withdrawals begin--then becomes the highest of three possible values: the 5% guaranteed growth value based on net contributions; the highest birthday value; or the market value of the participant's account.

• Flexibility and Control - IncomeFlex also offers exceptional flexibility and control. Participants choose how much of their defined contribution plan assets to allocate, and they can move out of the option at any time without withdrawal fees. In addition, participants can withdraw more or less than their guaranteed amount during retirement … and they can pass along any remaining market value in their account to their beneficiaries. It should be noted that withdrawals in excess of the guaranteed amount will reduce future guaranteed withdrawals proportionally.

Prudential Retirement delivers retirement plan solutions for public, private, and non-profit organizations. Services include state-of-the-art record keeping, administration, investment management, comprehensive employee investment education and communications, and trustee services. With nearly 85 years of retirement experience, Prudential Retirement meets the needs of over 3.5 million defined contribution participants and defined benefit participants and annuitants. Prudential Retirement has more than $158 billion in retirement account values as of June 30, 2008.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $638 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2008, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise, Prudential is focused on helping more than 50 million individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. The company's well-known Rock symbol is an icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more information, please visit http://www.prudential.com.

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