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The National's highly successful allocated pension, National Flexible Pension Plan, has been enhanced to deliver an even greater range of investment options for retirees. From April, investors in the National Flexible Pension Plan will have eight additional investment options from which to choose, after the appointment of four more highly-regarded investment managers - Colonial First State, Rothschild, Merrill Lynch Mercury and Perpetual. Commenting on the appointment of the four investment managers, Mr Craig Bacon, the National's Head of Retirement Business, said: "Our goal was to seek out those managers that have a particularly strong track record in delivering consistently good returns." "Allocated pension investments are rarely short term. With people retiring earlier today and living longer, most people are enjoying a retirement that lasts at least 20 years. This makes it essential for retirees to seek consistent investment performance over the long term," added Mr Bacon. National Flexible Pension Plan, which provides an income stream for investors in their retirement, now offers 28 investment portfolios provided by 11 investment managers, including the National's wholly-owned managers, National Asset Management and County Investment Management. The other external investment managers are Bankers Trust, Macquarie, AMP, Mercantile Mutual and MLC. The National has become a leading provider of allocated pensions in Australia - last year ranking number three in the market with sales of $473 million. According to a recent report by research house, Plan for Life, the allocated pensions market is worth approximately $22 billion in funds under management and grew by 27% in 1999. "Buying an allocated pension is one of the final stages of retirement planning for most people. The National, however, is also instrumental in helping customers to start planning for retirement much earlier," said Mr Bacon. "The National is a leader in the area of retirement advice. For instance, the launch of our Step by Step Guide to Retirement Success, late in 1999, was enormously well received. The 12-step guide outlines the key decisions that most people need to make about their finances in retirement," he added. Further information about National Flexible Pension Plan can be obtained from a National Financial Planner or independent financial advisers.
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