The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America

As a plan administrator, you know designing the very best retirement plan hinges on strategies, not products alone.

You’re focused on:

*    New investment options
*    New incentives for highly compensated employees, key executives and your staff
*    New answers to an ever-changing regulatory landscape.

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), a leading insurance and financial services company with 150 years of experience in the industry, understands the challenges of designing and managing a retirement benefit program in today’s marketplace.  That’s why we’ve created an answer for the times:  A step-by-step approach anchored on strategies more than individual products.    We’ve assembled two teams of experts – not just individual financial representatives - who bring a strong knowledge of qualified and non-qualified retirement plans to the table.

Our pros also have a wide range of expertise. They know the marketplace from the inside out. 

The Retirement Center of Excellence (RCE)

The Retirement Center of Excellence (RCE) is a dedicated resource that works in tandem with our wholesaling team to help provide financial professionals with solutions for varying aspects of the retirement business. The RCE, comprised of a team of experienced retirement specialists, is skilled in retirement issues in both Group Solutions—including 401(k) and defined benefit plans—and Individual Solutions—such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs), mutual funds and annuities.

The Guardian Business Resource Center (BRC)

The Guardian Business Resource Center (BRC) specializes in tackling small business issues, including retirement plans.  Guardian’s BRC minds are ready to provide entrepreneurs and startup companies with the same attention normally reserved for Fortune 100 companies. 
Make no mistake:  Our RCE and BRC teams aren’t out to peddle or push product.  Instead, they’re each focused on developing appropriate ideas for your firm from the top down.

An Objective, Measured Approach

There are several steps to the Guardian approach: 
1.    An evaluation is performed by our RCE experts.  Our team reviews your current plan and examines your administrative capabilities. 
2.   We then have an in-depth discussion to discuss your goals.    
3.   After a thorough evaluation, the Guardian team reviews your choices and provides retirement plan ideas on the types of plans and funding vehicles for these plans for your unique situation.

A Solution for the Times

As a retirement plan administrator, you have a lot on your shoulders.  In the current environment, your employee base may be confused, and everyone - from management to employees - is turning to you for answers. 
There’s a lot to consider these days.

* For one, the world’s financial markets have been beset by turbulence.  Even after a strong rally last year, the average annual returns of stocks are still below water for the past three to five years.  Bond yields remain miniscule.  And almost daily, economic news seems to send skittish financial markets on a rollercoaster ride.  
* In an ever-changing regulatory and tax landscape, new plans and options crop up endlessly.  Many tried and true approaches to investment savings have been turned upside down or replaced by new alternatives.  And to top it all, you’re barraged by sales pitches and offerings daily.

It’s clear that now more than ever, both the design and management of qualified and non-qualified retirement plans depend more on strategies than individual products. 
The advantages of a holistic approach to retirement planning are clear.  The comprehensive approach Guardian has developed blends best practices and new innovations and can help transform your company’s retirement plan into an unrivaled benefit, one that can set your company apart from the competition in today’s job market.

The Latest Offerings in a Changing Landscape

As a leading provider of employee benefit funding vehicles to small and mid-sized businesses, Guardian is up-to-date on the latest regulatory and marketplace changes.  Our team is well versed in defined benefit, qualified- and non-qualified offerings.  Guardian and its subsidiaries can help you tackle the challenges of developing special incentives for key employees and highly compensated managers, and we offer an array of financial products, including group and individual annuities, group funding agreements, life, long-term care and disability insurances.

At Guardian, we’re at the forefront of new product development.

* Cash balance plans are defined benefit retirement plans that can offer sizeable tax deductions to small- and medium-sized businesses and can help clients rebuild retirement savings after the turbulence of 2008.  Cash balance plans can make sense since they’re easy to understand and can furnish participants with a guaranteed accumulation.  They’re also flexible and help control costs.  Two Guardian group retirement products, The Guardian ChoiceSM and The Guardian Advantage®, offer clients a variety of options to help fund cash balance plans.

* Guardian also offers more specialized plan funding components designed to complement the retirement needs of your company’s most important executives and managers and reduce taxes at the same time.  One option, Guardian’s corporate-owned variable life insurance (COLI ) policy can serve several functions.  Before retirement, with your company named as primary beneficiary, COLI offers protection on the lives of key employees.  Using life insurance to fund the plan offers additional tax advantages to the company, as policy cash values accumulate income tax-free.  It can also help offset the plan’s costs and help your company recover the costs spent on employee benefits.

An Ongoing Relationship

Of course, Guardian is there to do more than evaluate.  We’re well equipped to make a difference even after our evaluation is complete and our suggestions have been made.  We have a nationwide network of representatives to help you with your decisions in addition to trained professionals who can answer questions and provide information to enrollees.

A Company You Can Depend On

* Guardian is with you for the long-term.  The proof of our financial strength lies in the top-notch ratings we have received from agencies such as A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s.  In fact, Guardian is one of just seven insurers who were upgraded in 2008 by A.M. Best – at a time when many financial companies were experiencing well-publicized financial troubles. (Ratings as of March 31, 2010, and are subject to change).

* Guardian has a solid presence in the financial industry.   We have more than 5,400 employees in the U.S. and a network of over 3,000 financial professionals in more than 80 agencies nationwide ready to serve as a trusted source for your retirement plan needs. 
Individual variable annuities, variable life insurance policies and their underlying variable investment options and underlying investment options under The Guardian Advantage® and The Guardian Choicesm are sold by prospectus only. Prospectuses contain important information, including fees and expenses. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money.  You should consider the investment objectives, risks, fees and charges of the investment company carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information.   A prospectus for variable annuity contracts may be obtained by calling 800.221.3253.   A prospectus for variable life insurance policies may be obtained by calling or 800-441-6455.

The Guardian Advantage®  group variable annuity contract and The Guardian Choicesm  group variable funding agreement are issued by The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company, Inc. (GIAC), a Delaware corporation whose principal place of business is 7 Hanover Square, New York, NY 10004.  GIAC is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY.

It is important to keep in mind that variable life insurance policies are subject to insurance-related charges, including mortality and expense risk charges, administrative fees, as well as management and operating expenses associated with each variable investment option offered in this policy.

All guarantees are backed exclusively by the strength and claims paying ability of The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company, Inc. (GIAC). Group and individual variable annuities and variable life insurance policies are issued by GIAC, a Delaware corporation. In addition, individual variable annuities and variable life insurance policies are distributed by Guardian Investor Services LLC (GIS). American Financial Systems, Inc. (AFS) 275 Wyman Street, Suite 16, Waltham, MA 02451 offers certain record-keeping and administrative services to Guardian’s corporate-owned life insurance policies.  GIAC, GIS and AFS are wholly owned subsidiaries of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, 7 Hanover Square, New York, NY 10004.

These variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies and their underlying variable investment options are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank or depository institution, nor are they federally insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other government agency. They involve investment risk, including possible loss of principal invested.

GIS is a member: FINRA, SIPC