N@N

United Way of Central Maryland Selects Prudentiala?s New Portfolio Protected Buy-Out Product to Secure Pension Plan

^{Published on 2010-12-02 07:05:58 - Market Wire}
 

NEWARK, N.J.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Prudential Retirement, a business unit of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), announced today that United Way of Central Maryland has selected Prudentiala™s Portfolio Protected Buy-Out to support the termination of its defined benefit retirement plan.

"We want our retirees receiving their benefits payouts to feel confident"

The Portfolio Protected Buy-Out combines the strength of Prudentiala™s guarantee with a separate account portfolio which provides additional security to covered individuals. The Portfolio Protected Buy-Out is designed to:

• Fully assume pension risk for the plana™s covered liabilities, including investment, longevity and benefit option risk;
• Provide for all administrative, actuarial, and investment management expenses;
• Enhance the level of security to covered individuals; and
• Remove pension liabilities from the plan sponsora™s balance sheet.

aWe want our retirees receiving their benefits payouts to feel confident,a said Mark Furst, president and CEO, United Way of Central Maryland. aWe decided to partner with Prudential because they have the right people, capabilities and products to ensure our participants receive the benefits promised to them. Prudentiala™s Portfolio Protected Buy-Out ensures all of that with the added security of a separate account.a

aEmployers tell us about the increased challenges they face today with successfully managing both their businesses and their pension plans,a said Phil Waldeck, vice president, Pension and Structured Solutions, Prudential Retirement. aThrough our pension risk transfer solutions, we have pulled together the expertise, knowledge, and resources to cost-effectively move the risks associated with defined benefit pension plans to Prudential. This allows employers to focus on managing their businesses, with the security of knowing we are working to ensure their employees and former employees will receive their pension benefits as promised and without fail.a

"We felt Prudential's innovative pension risk transfer product offered an additional layer of protection for United Way of Central Maryland," commented Robin Gantz, vice president, Aon Investment Consulting. "The long-standing reputation, competitive pricing, and financial strength of Prudential also factored into our client's decision."

aWea™re thrilled United Way of Central Maryland, in working with Aon, chose Prudential as their pension-plan partner,a continued Waldeck. aThis is one way theya™re helping to provide a more secure retirement for their employees.a

For more information about Prudentiala™s pension risk transfer capabilities, please visit Prudentiala™s Pension Risk Transfer website at: [ www.prudential.com/pensionrisk ].

For 85 years, United Way of Central Maryland (UWCM) has been the regiona™s human service leader. It supports programs and initiatives in the city of Baltimore and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties. UWCM is dedicated to helping individuals and families meet their emergency needs, stabilize their lives and ultimately lift them up & out of the circumstances that make them vulnerable; drawing upon local knowledge, data & expertise to understand the communitya™s needs, identify where gaps exist and support what works in addressing them and serving as a powerful voice and advocate on critical health and human issues. For more information on United Way of Central Maryland, log onto uwcm.org.

Aon Corporation (NYSE: AON) is the leading global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human capital consulting and outsourcing. Through its more than 59,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon delivers distinctive client value via innovative and effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions. Aon's industry-leading global resources and technical expertise are delivered locally through more than 500 offices in more than 120 countries. Visit [ http://www.aon.com ] for more information on Aon.

Prudential Retirement delivers retirement plan solutions for public, private, and non-profit organizations. Services include state-of-the-art record keeping, administrative services, investment management, comprehensive employee investment education and communications, and trustee services. With over 85 years of retirement experience, Prudential Retirement helps meet the needs of nearly 3.7 million participants and annuitants. Prudential Retirement has $194.3 billion in retirement account values as of 9/30/10. For more information, please visit [ http://www.news.prudential.com/ ]

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudentiala™s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. In the U.S., Prudentiala™s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit [ http://www.news.prudential.com/ ]