US – ING, UBS and Aviva are among a group of 22 companies that have formed the new Retirement Income Industry Association, or RIIA, to focus on the challenges as the ‘baby boomer’ generation begins to retire.

Among other founders are Alliance Bernstein, and Russell Investment Group.

"As this immense generation shifts its focus from wealth accumulation to retirement income, the financial industry will change its orientation as well,” said David Macchia, president and chief executive of Wealth2k.

The firms have a common belief that “the financial strategies and products necessary to properly place retirement assets into a distribution mode are inherently different than those used to accumulate assets”.

“RIIA's mission will be to assist the financial services industry's development of the products and services Americans need to solve their retirement income challenge,” a statement said.

"Industry leaders must innovate to arrive at the solutions needed to meet our nation's income challenge,” said UBS vice president Rick Nersesian. “It's essential that as many Americans as possible understand what's really at stake here, which is nothing less than their future long-term financial security."

“The willingness of industry leaders to contribute their time and expertise to RIIA confirms the need for this organization and the importance of its mission," said Francois Gadenne, chief executive of Retirement Engineering.

The RIIA will provide an industry forum, provide communication tools and create a database on retirement trends and retirement income products.

The members:

- Alliance Bernstein
- Aviva
- Bank of America
- FundQuest
- Genworth
- Greenwich Associates
- ING
- MassMutual
- MFS Investment Management
- Morningstar, Inc.
- Nationwide Financial
- OppenheimerFunds
- Pepe&Hazard
- PLANSPONSOR
- Retirement Engineering
- Russell Investment Group
- The 401(k) Company
- The Phoenix
- Symetra Financial
- UBS
- Wachovia
- Wealth2k

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