Products December 17, 2009

Wells to Offer Rollover Annuity

December 17, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Wells Fargo’s Institutional Retirement and Trust division is offering retirement plan participants institutionally priced annuities on the Hueler Income Solutions platform.

Reported by

A Wells Fargo news release said offering the out-of-plan annuities as an IRA rollover option is part of a deal with Hueler Investment Services, Inc.

According to the news release, the Hueler annuity program was created for “transitioning investors” (both active employees and retirees) who want or need to convert a portion of their retirement nest egg into a reliable income stream.

Get more!  Sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters.

The program was previously offered by Wachovia Retirement Services, and Wells Fargo is now expanding this offering to all Wells Fargo institutional retirement clients, according to the announcement.

“We believe it’s important to enhance participants’ retirement readiness by providing a variety of retirement solutions both during and after their working years,” said Laurie Nordquist, director of Institutional Retirement and Trust at Wells Fargo.

 “Now more than ever before, it is critical that plan sponsors offer participants nearing or in retirement access to a low cost, prudent means of pensionizing their hard earned retirement savings. Creating a pay check for life may be the most important step an individual takes toward ensuring income sufficiency in retirement,” said Kelli Hustad Hueler, CEO of Hueler Companies.


Administration December 17, 2009

Maryland Pension Fund Divests Shell Holdings over Iran Activities

December 17, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The Maryland State Retirement and Pension System has sold off more than one million common shares and $3.5 million in bonds issued by Royal Dutch Shell, PLC and its affiliates.

Reported by

A news release from the fund said the action was driven by the company’s business activities in Iran.

The action was taken in accordance with a state law enacted last year, the 2008 Divestiture from Iran and Sudan Act, requiring the Board of Trustees of the Retirement System to determine the extent to which system funds are invested in companies doing business in Iran or Sudan. If the company has no plan for ending its operations in Iran or Sudan, the system must divest if the Board of Trustees determines that a specific divestment is consistent with its fiduciary responsibilities, according to the news release.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANSPONSOR NEWSDash daily newsletter.

“The Board of Trustees of the Retirement System has taken action to comply with State law,” State Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp, chair of the Board of Trustees, said in the announcement.

«