May 3, 2010 

(Via electronic submission) 

Office of Regulations and Interpretations 

Employee Benefits Security Administration 

Room N-5655 

U.S. Department of Labor 

200 Constitutional Avenue, NW 

Washington, DC 20210 

Re: Lifetime Income RFI - - (RIN 1210-AB33) 

Mutual of Omaha appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Employee Benefits Security 

Administration’s Request for Information Regarding Lifetime Income Options for 

Participants and Beneficiaries in Retirement Plans. 

Mutual of Omaha is a full-service, multi-line provider of insurance and financial services 

products. Mutual of Omaha offers products and services that provide financial protection to 

help families, individuals, businesses and groups achieve their goals, including a full line of 

retirement products. We would like to express support for the comments provided by the 

American Council of Life Insurers in its comment letter dated May 3, 2010, particularly in 

regard to the following issues: 

 Education - Plan participant education is key to helping individuals understand the 

operation, benefits and limitations of lifetime income products in relationship to their 

retirement savings. In relation to participant education, Mutual of Omaha strongly 

supports legislation or regulation that would require quarterly retirement benefit 

statements to illustrate a participant's retirement savings as either an annual or a monthly 

guaranteed lifetime income amount. Expressing the participant's account as a lump sum 

figure may create a false sense of security for participants. Mutual of Omaha supports 

illustrations indicating how much lifetime income a participant can expect at retirement 

because such illustrations will provide a better gauge to the participant of his or her actual 

progress toward retirement security. Additionally, such illustrations will allow 

participants to make informed choices regarding potential account modifications, such as 

increasing contributions to their retirement plan. 

 Fiduciary Protection - It is Mutual of Omaha's position that legislation or regulatory 

guidance must include fiduciary protection for plan sponsors who educate their 

participants about lifetime income options. Absent such protection, plan sponsors will 
not provide important educational information to their participants due to liability 

concerns. In addition, plan sponsors should be afforded fiduciary protection when 

providing illustrations of lifetime income on the participants’ quarterly retirement benefit 

statements when the illustration meets the requirements of a prescribed format. 

 Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA) - Mutual of Omaha supports a 

reaffirmation by the Department of Labor that incremental annuity products are eligible 

for treatment as qualified default investment alternatives. Unlike other options available 

to retirees, annuity products are able to provide a great amount of security - that is, with 

an annuity, a retiree cannot outlive their retirement savings. Given this advantage, it 

would be helpful for the Department of Labor to reaffirm that plan sponsors have the 

option of defaulting participants into an investment alternative which would allow them 

to achieve this security. 

 Tax Incentives - Mutual of Omaha supports legislation which would provide tax 

incentives to encourage individuals to withdraw savings in a guaranteed lifetime form to 

help foster their retirement security. Although participants currently enjoy income tax 

deferral for contributions to their qualified retirement plan accounts, the security that is 

offered by lifetime income distribution options should be afforded additional tax 

incentives in order to encourage participants to utilize these valuable payout options. 

Once again, we appreciate the opportunity to comment on this very important request for 

information. Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely, 

Scott Herchenbach 

SVP, Retirement Plans