From: NORTHRUP, STEVE [mailto:SNORTHR@entergy.com] 

Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 1:20 PM 

To: EBSA, E-ORI - EBSA 

Subject: RFI on Lifetime Income

I am 65 and thinking about retirement after 43 years in the workforce and paying into Social

Security for 49 years.  I think many Americans might be interested in the availability of annuities

in our retirement plans if they were not as costly as commercially available annuities or if there

were some tax advantage as an incentive to purchase.  Commercially available annuities are

expensive and typically offer no tax advantage or inflation adjustment over a retiree’s lifetime.  

Those disadvantages of annuities are very difficult to overcome, if looked at in a pure financial

sense.  If there is a move towards increasing acceptance of annuities in retirement plans, costs

will have to be minimized, and some combination of tax advantages, incentives and inflation

adjustment will need to be included to make annuities more attractive.   

Otherwise, nothing changes from where we are today.  We already have the ability to purchase

annuities in our retirement plans by rolling over assets to self‐directed IRAs and purchasing

annuities from there, but most of us will not, because of the disadvantages above.  Today’s

annuities simply are not very attractive retirement options.

Regards,

Steve Northrup, P.E.

606 N Harbor Drive

Brandon, MS

39047

Phone:  601‐829‐0795

News Release

EBSA News Release: [02/02/2010]

Contact Name: Gloria Della or Joseph De Wolk

Phone Number: (202) 693‐8664 or (202) 579‐7359  

Release Number: 09‐1571‐NAT

US Labor Department seeks public comments on lifetime income options for

retirement plans

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Departments of Labor and the Treasury today

announced the publication of a request for information (RFI) soliciting public

comments to assist the agencies in determining what steps to take to enhance

retirement security for workers in employer‐sponsored retirement plans

through lifetime annuities or other arrangements that provide a stream of

income after retiring. The RFI appears in today's edition of the Federal Register.

"Today's initiative is particularly important given the shift from defined benefit

plans that offer employees lifetime annuities to 401(k) and other defined

contribution plans that typically distribute retirement savings in a lump sum

payment," said Phyllis C. Borzi, assistant secretary for the Labor Department's

Employee Benefits Security Administration.  

The RFI seeks comments on a broad range of topics, including:

 The advantages and disadvantages of distributing benefits as a lifetime

stream of income both for workers and employers, and why lump sum

distributions are chosen more often than a lifetime income option.  
 The type of information participants need to make informed decisions

in selecting the form of retirement income.  

 Disclosure of participants' retirement income in the form of account

balances as well as in the form of lifetime streams of payment.  

 Developments in the marketplace that relate to annuities and other

lifetime income options.  

Written comments responding to the lifetime income RFI may be addressed to

the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Regulations and Interpretations,

Employee Benefits Security Administration, N‐5655, 200 Constitution Ave. NW,

Washington, DC 20210, Attn: Lifetime Income RFI. The public also may submit

comments electronically by email to E‐ORI@dol.gov or through the federal e‐

rulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov.