SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Dec. 28, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — As part of its commitment to educate participants, plan sponsors, and advisors, MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division has published a white paper entitled “Roth Retirement Plan Conversions – Questions and Answers.” Effective September 27, 2010, the President signed into law the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 allowing participants who are in a retirement plan that offers Roth accounts the ability to convert or rollover their non-Roth account balances into a Roth source under the same plan, provided the participant has a distributable event (i.e. termination of service or in-service withdrawal provision, excluding hardship).

The recently published white paper answers the most common questions around converting 401(k), 403(b), and starting in 2011, 457(b) governmental plans into Roth accounts. Written by Dean Carey, MassMutual Retirement Services Division’s head of ERISA Advisory Services, it reviews the benefits and tax implications of the new law to help participants, plan sponsors and advisors understand some of the intricacies of converting to a Roth plan.

“MassMutual is committed to being a valuable source of information to our clients. We frequently publish white papers and host online seminars to bring clarity to the ever-changing world of retirement services regulation,” says Dean Carey, assistant vice president and head of ERISA Advisory Services for MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division. “We understand regulations can be complicated, making it difficult to understand the complex manner in which retirement plans can be affected. We’re dedicated to working with our advisors and plan sponsors to get participants the information they need to make good decisions for their retirement futures.”

For more information about MassMutual Retirement Services or to obtain a copy of the white paper, please contact your MassMutual sales representative or MassMutual’s advisor support team at 1-866-444-2601.

About MassMutual

MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division has been serving retirement plans for more than 60 years. It offers a full range of products and services for corporate, union, nonprofit and governmental employers’ defined benefit, defined contribution and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. It serves approximately 1.2 million participants.

Founded in 1851, MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policyholders.  The company has a long history of financial strength and strong performance, and although dividends are not guaranteed, MassMutual has paid dividends to eligible participating policyholders every year since the 1860s. With whole life insurance as its foundation, MassMutual provides products to help meet the financial needs of clients, such aslife insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement/401(k) plan services, and annuities. In addition, the company’s strong and growing network of financial professionals helps clients make good financial decisions for the long-term.

MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) [of which Retirement Services is a division] and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. MassMutual is headquartered inSpringfield, Massachusetts and its major affiliates include: Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; The First Mercantile Trust Company; MassMutual International LLC; MML Investors Services, member FINRA and SIPC; OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB.

For more information, visit massmutual.com.

Copyright © 2010 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and affiliates, Springfield, MA 01111-0001.

All rights reserved.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., June 17 /PRNewswire/ — MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division will present a live webcast for retirement plan intermediaries and sponsors entitled “Liability-Driven Investing for Small and Mid-Size Plans ($20M – $100M)” on Tuesday, June 29 at 2 p.m. ET. The live one-hour webcast will be moderated by Charles Ruffel, founder and director of PlanSponsor magazine, and presented by Marc Condon, assistant vice president and actuary, and Doug Steele, director, investment management for MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division.

The webcast will explore the theory and practice of liability-driven investing (LDI) and why it makes sense right now. Topics will include how to reduce volatility in annual pension funding, how to manage pension assets in the context of liabilities, and how to implement cost-effective strategies for achieving more predictable plan funding levels. A Q&A will be conducted at the close of the session.

“Liability-driven investing has been eagerly embraced by large pension plans and, at MassMutual, we believe LDI can be a viable solution even for smaller retirement plans with $20 million to $100 million in assets,” says Bill Silvanic, FSA, senior vice president and chief financial officer for MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division. “We are seeing strong interest in LDI and this webcast will give retirement plan intermediaries and sponsors important information to help them determine if LDI should be considered as a solution for their plan needs.”

There is no fee to attend but advance registration is required. Intermediaries and plan sponsors may register by visiting http://ww2.plansponsor.com/events/MassMutualLDI. For more information about MassMutual Retirement Services, please contact your advisor or call MassMutual at 1-866-444-2601.

About MassMutual

MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division has been serving retirement plans for more than 60 years. It offers a full range of products and services for corporate, union, nonprofit and governmental employers’ defined benefit, defined contribution and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. It serves approximately one million participants.

Founded in 1851, MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policyholders. The company has a long history of financial strength and strong performance, and although dividends are not guaranteed, MassMutual has paid dividends to eligible participating policyholders every year since the 1860s. With whole life insurance as its foundation, MassMutual provides products to help meet the financial needs of clients, such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement/401(k) plan services, and annuities. In addition, the company’s strong and growing network of financial professionals helps clients make good financial decisions for the long-term.

MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) [of which Retirement Services is a division] and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. MassMutual is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts and its major affiliates include: Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; The First Mercantile Trust Company; MassMutual International LLC; MML Investors Services, Inc., member FINRA and SIPC; OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB.

For more information, visit massmutual.com.

Copyright © 2010 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and affiliates, Springfield, MA 01111-0001.

Formerly in possession of S&P’s highest rating for financial strength, MassMutual Financial Group was demoted August 26th, 2009 to AA+, S&P’s second-highest rating.  MassMutual is a major provider for life insurance and other financial products, one of several industry providers to have suffered ratings downgrade in recent months.  S&P attributed MassMutual’s demotion to 1) its high proportion of illiquid capital, 2) high leveraging of its capital, and 3) broad downturn across the economy, all of which undermines MassMutual’s flexibility.

S&P is but one of ten Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations, and MassMutual’s status remains unchanged in the other nine NRSRO’s’ ratings.  However, it already occupies a place in Moody’s second-tier, and Moody’s has furthermore slated the group to be reviewed for yet further downgrade.  Nevertheless, A. M. Best and Fitch both award MassMutual their highest rank.

MassMutual still ranks among the highest institutions of the industry, though top competitors New York Life and Northwestern Mutual retain S&P’s attractive AAA rank.