In the heat of the summer, thoughts turn to autumn and annual enrollment for 2011.  More and more employers will be introducing or expanding Wellness initiatives next year. 
 
Here's a new way to think about these programs.

Concern for health of employees and their families will lead employers and their vendor partners to move beyond today's wellness programs to Lifetime Wellness Planning.
 
Just as employees are encouraged to take the long view in financial and retirement planning, where actions while working yield benefits both for today and for retirement, we see Lifetime Wellness Planning becoming accepted as equally vital.  Each employee and family member

should have an individual Lifetime Wellness Plan that will prompt and support healthy behaviors − generating real "health investment returns" both while working and after retirement for a lifetime.

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Defined Contribution Plan public policy, plan sponsor and product provider focus is shifting to lifetime retirement income solutions.  Longevity risk, recession impacted account balances and squandered lump sum payments pose new questions for participants and those who design Defined Contribution plans.

Innovative answers to these questions seem to emerge almost daily.  It's become clear that DC income solutions should target changes in both the accumulation and distribution phases. 

Social Security (along with the retirement security promise of Medicare) is becoming the only retirement income employees are sure not to outlive.

The Department of Labor and Treasury joint RFI (Request for Information) on Lifetime Income Options drew many hundreds of responses from insurance companies, investment funds, plan providers, consulting firms and more.  These wide ranging comments are being analyzed by the agencies and a public hearing is scheduled for September, 2010.