''Five Retirement Rules of Thumb'' Help Guide Americans to Financial Retirement Security.

RESTON, Va. -- Planning for retirement used to be relatively simple and straightforward. However, according to the National Association for Variable Annuities (NAVA), new economic realities are making today's retirement planning more challenging. Company sponsored pension plans are in decline, and Social Security was never intended to be the sole source of retirement income. As a result, Americans must structure their retirement plans much differently today than in years past, which means taking more personal responsibility to reach their retirement goals.

To help Americans address these new realties and make wiser retirement planning decisions, NAVA is proposing five easy to remember "rules" as building blocks for sound financial retirement planning. The "Five Retirement Rules of Thumb" are:

A[micro]   --  100 Percent Rule -- Past analyses have indicated that retirees
        can live on 70-80 percent of their pre-retirement income.
        However, given rising medical costs and longer, more active
        lifestyles, you will most likely need close to 100 percent of
        your pre-retirement income in retirement.

A[micro]   --  Two-thirds Rule -- According to the Social Security
        Administration, Social Security typically provides only about
        one-third of a retiree's retirement income needs. Therefore,
        at least two-thirds of your retirement income will need to
        come from other sources.

A[micro]       --  Example: In 2005, the average monthly Social Security
            payment for retired workers will only total about $950. To
            generate a total of $2,850 in monthly income, you will
            need an additional $1,900 per month from other retirement
            income vehicles, such as a pension or annuity.

A[micro]   --  13 Times Rule -- To receive guaranteed lifetime income
        payments by purchasing an annuity, you'll need approximately
        13 times the annual income you would like to have in
        retirement.

A[micro]       --  Example: In order to receive approximately $50,000 per
            year in lifetime income payments from an annuity, you will
            need $650,000.(1)

A[micro]   --  The 110 Rule -- Historically, as investors age their
        portfolios typically include an increasingly higher percentage
        of fixed investments, and a lower percentage of riskier equity
        investments. However, given that today many Americans are
        living longer, they may need to keep a higher percentage of
        assets in equity investments. Utilize the 110 Rule to
        determine the allocation of your retirement investments by
        subtracting your current age from 110, and the result is your
        equity investment allocation.

A[micro]       --  Example: A 65 year-old would have 45 percent (110 minus
            65) of his/her portfolio in equity investments. The
            remaining 55 percent would be allocated to fixed
            investments. A 75 year-old would allocate 35 percent to
            equity investments, and the remaining 65 percent to fixed
            investments.

A[micro]   --  Rule of 72 -- Your retirement savings plan should take
        inflation into account. You can use the Rule of 72 to
        determine the number of years it will take for your money to
        be worth half its current value at a given inflation rate by
        dividing the inflation rate into 72. With this information,
        you can structure your plan to include investments that will
        outpace inflation.

A[micro]       --  Example: To determine how long it will take for your money
            to be worth half its current value given a 5 percent
            inflation rate, divide 5 into 72. The result is 14.4
            years.

"Saving for retirement can be challenging, even frightening for some people," said Mark Mackey, president and CEO of NAVA. "Our hope is that these simple rules of thumb will give Americans some key building blocks from which to create a sound financial retirement plan, and help remove some of the psychological barriers to getting started. Everyone's situation is different, but all Americans should have the same ultimate goal: to make sure your retirement income lasts as long as you do so that you are able to achieve the retirement you've always wanted."

Guaranteed Retirement Income -- Annuities

With the decline of employer sponsored pension plans and proposed changes to Social Security, an annuity is fast becoming an integral component of a retirement plan. It is a long-term retirement investment vehicle offering a combination of insurance benefits, guaranteed lifetime income payments and tax-deferred savings. Variable annuities allow individuals to invest in a variety of underlying fixed and equity funds, and provide returns based on the performance of these funds. Only annuities protect retirement assets against market volatility and guarantee retirement income that cannot be outlived.

About The National Association for Variable Annuities (NAVA)

NAVA is a non-profit trade association located in suburban Washington D.C. NAVA provides a variety of services to the industry including educational forums, research and conferences aimed at furthering the development and understanding of fixed and variable annuities, income annuities and variable life insurance. NAVA also maintains and supports an educational website for consumers at www.RetireOnYourTerms.com.

(1) Generating $50,000 in lifetime retirement income per year without an annuity would require substantially more savings: at least 20 times the desired annual income.