August 25, 2005, Wayne, PA — The Diversified Services Group (DSG) announced the launch of a much expanded Retirement Products Study tracking the various solutions designed to provide income to retirees. Along with mapping the variable payout annuity universe, this year’s study covers "Living Benefit" options as well as the emerging suitability guidelines that are coloring how these products are being sold. This information will allow sponsors to determine the state and direction of the variable and fixed payout annuity markets and ‘benchmark" themselves against their chief competitors on a number of strategic and performance levels.

The following key areas will be examined:

• Most popular product and "living benefit" rider design features.
• Marketing practices and strategies.
• Future trends on product design and performance metrics.
• Comparisons and gaps in expectations between the actuaries and product managers managing the day-to-day tactics and the senior executives setting longer term Retirement Income strategies.

The 2005 Retirement Income Products study is part of DSG’s ongoing series of syndicated research reports about the Retirement Income Market, known as the RM² Reports™. These reports, which began in 1996, focus on issues that firms face as they develop services, products and marketing initiatives to reach individuals and compete at and after the Retirement Inflexion Point™.

DSG provides consulting, research, and executive development to all areas of the financial services industry with a primary focus on the Retirement Income Market, its trends, products, services and delivery channels.

For more information on how to become a sponsor of this study, please contact:

Wm. Borden Ayers, Principal
Phone: 610-989-1710 ext. 21
Fax: 610-989-1730
Email: bordena@dsg-network.com

The Diversified Services Group, Inc.
303 West Lancaster Avenue
Suite 2E
Wayne, PA 19087

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