Products November 19, 2010

Unum Introduces New Disability Insurance Product

November 19, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Unum has introduced a new customizable individual disability insurance product that complements group disability benefits and addresses current workforce trends.
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The new financial protection benefit — the Income Series 750 — unbundles the features of Unum’s current individual disability insurance, giving employers greater flexibility to select the options that best meet the needs of employees who are not fully protected by their group disability plans, according to a press release.   

“Most group disability plans put a cap on the amount of income they cover, leaving many key employees with the need for additional protection. Our new product offers employers different ways to help close those income shortfalls and gaps that may exist in their current benefits,” said Steven Joseph, senior vice president of individual disability operations at Unum, in the announcement.  

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The Income Series 750 also provides an unemployment provision that suspends premium payments for up to a year if an employee is laid off; an optional serious illness benefit that gives an employee a lump-sum disability payment as a result of cancer, stroke or heart attack; and access to comprehensive income replacement solutions, which can include additional catastrophic coverage and an optional asset protection provision to address potential future financial risks.   

The new offering also features flexible plan designs and employer-paid, employee-paid or shared funding options. In addition, Unum supports the new product with benefits education and enrollment tools, administrative capabilities and claims review.   

More information is at http://www.unum.com.
Investing November 19, 2010

Master Trusts See Positive Q3 2010

November 19, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The median return of the BNY Mellon Master Trust Universe was 8.48% for the third quarter of 2010, reversing course from the -4.87 % return reported for Q2.
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With the rebound, the median return is 6.70% on a year-to-date basis and 10.32% for the twelve months ending September 30, 2010.  

According to a press release, 100% of plans posted positive results for the quarter ending September 30, 2010.  All but a single plan (99.85%) also saw positive returns on a year-to-date basis. Less than 25% of plans matched or outperformed the custom policy return of 9.56% for the third quarter, a significant drop compared to Q2. Year-to-date, a more typical 84% of plans met or exceeded the policy return of 5.29%.

Corporate plans were the leading performer for the third quarter, posting a median return of 8.95%, closely followed by public funds, Taft Hartley, health care, and foundations and endowments.

Non-U.S. equities were the dominant asset class for the quarter with the median return up 16.29% compared to the MSCI World ex USA return of 16.21%, the press release said. U.S. equities posted 11.58% for the quarter with the Russell 3000 Index up 11.53%.  The median return for non-U.S. fixed income was 8.59% compared to the Citigroup Non-U.S. World Government Bond Index return of 10.45%.  U.S. fixed income was the lowest performing asset class for the quarter with a median return of 3.51%, versus the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index return of 2.48%.    

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The average asset allocation in the BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe for the third quarter was: U.S. equity 32%, U.S. fixed income 28%, non-U.S. equity 17%, non-U.S. fixed income 2%, alternative investments 10%, real estate 2%, cash 1%, and other (oil, gas, etc.) 8%.  

With a market value of $1.19 trillion and an average plan size of $1.64 billion, the BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe consists of 728 corporate, foundation, endowment, public, Taft-Hartley and health care plans.

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