PEORIA, IL, October 28, 2010 (Press-News.org) Alliance Benefit Group, LLC (ABG) received an Excellence in Communications award at the recent annual meeting for the Retirement Income Industry Association (RIIA). The RIIA annually selects what they deem as the communications materials, advertising and marketing initiatives that stand out across the retirement income industry.
ABG was named the winner of the Retail Retirement Income Communications Award sponsored by Investment News in the category of New Media. ABG earned the award for its submission of "Introducing a Smarter Way to Manage Your 401(k) Plan", a campaign to promote use of its SmartPlan Retirement Planning System.
"The winners demonstrate excellence and innovation in communications that make a real impact on consumers looking to our industry for guidance in creating a secure retirement," said RIIA member Clarence Edlund.
ABG's SmartPlan is an interactive video-based solution that guides plan participants through a complete plan enrollment or update process. It can also assist plan participants with determining retirement needs and goals and serve as a conduit for important plan information. This system, developed by vWise, Inc., has proven to increase plan participation and fulfill fiduciary duties, all while reducing the need for print communications and on-site meetings.
John Blossom, CEO of ABG of Illinois, said the award reflects ABG's belief in the system and where the industry is headed.
"SmartPlan is truly revolutionary in its scope and approach." said Blossom. "As part of our commitment to working closely with plan sponsors and participants to help them achieve their financial goals, we look to provide tools to promote positive outcomes for retirement plans. The interactive SmartPlan system provides an effective and cost efficient means to accomplish this."
Contact: John Blossom, CEO Alliance Benefit Group of Illinois, 800-242-2356
The Retirement Income Industry Association (www.riia-usa.org) is a not-for-profit organization that was founded by leading financial services companies, advisors and academics who wanted a focused approach to retirement income. Established in 2006, the RIIA's mission is to bring the industry together to create a forum for sharing the freshest outlooks, the most modern thinking, the latest research and education, and the newest advances in product development within the realm of retirement income.
Alliance Benefit Group, LLC (www.abgnational.com) is a national network of independently-owned retirement plan consulting, investment advisory, health and welfare consulting and benefits administration firms. Collectively, ABG serves retirement plans with a total of more than $12 billion of assets and nearly 400,000 plan participants.
Alliance Benefit Group Receives Industry Award
ABG was named the winner of the Retail Retirement Income Communications Award sponsored by Investment News.
2010-10-28
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
3D From Your Camera: Eos Systems Announces PhotoModeler 2010
2010-10-28
Eos Systems today announced the release of PhotoModeler 2010 and PhotoModeler Scanner 2010.
PhotoModeler, a Windows application, is used to create 3D models and measurements from photographs using ordinary digital cameras. PhotoModeler Scanner software adds the capability of creating dense point clouds like a laser or 3D scanner but eliminates the need for expensive and cumbersome equipment. The flexibility in using the ubiquitous digital camera offers sophisticated 3D capabilities for technical professionals and home users alike.
Both ends of this user spectrum ...
New guideline from ASH and ASCO recommends caution regarding ESA use in cancer patients
2010-10-27
(WASHINGTON, October 25, 2010) – An updated joint guideline by the American Society of Hematology (ASH) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) advises physicians about the appropriate use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), a class of drugs that stimulate the bone marrow to produce more red blood cells, to treat cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia. While the guideline cautions that ESAs are associated with shorter survival and increased risk of thromboembolism — blood clots — and tumor progression, it also recognizes their major benefit ...
New class of biomolecules triggered in response to respiratory virus infection
2010-10-27
For the first time, scientists have discovered that a poorly understood class of RNA produced in a mammal's cells during a respiratory virus attack may affect the outcome of the infection. Their findings are reported today in mBio, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
RNA (ribonucleic acid) contains information transcribed from the cell's instruction manual, its DNA. The best known of these RNAs translate sections of DNA code into building blocks for proteins.
Most studies of how animals' cells respond to virus infection typically look at protein-coding ...
Landmark study finds high resting heart associated with shorter life expectancy
2010-10-27
Montreal −If you are a person who already has stable heart disease, how fast your heart beats at rest can predict your risk of dying, not only from heart disease but all other causes, Dr. Eva Lonn told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2010, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.
"The higher the heart rate, the higher the risk of death from cardiovascular and all causes, even after adjusting for all risk factors that could confound our results," says Dr. Lonn, a cardiologist and professor at McMaster University. ...
Severe sepsis associated with development of cognitive and functional disability in older patients
2010-10-27
Older adults who survived severe sepsis were more likely to develop substantial cognitive impairment and functional disability, according to a study in the October 27 issue of JAMA.
Hundreds of thousands of patients endure severe sepsis each year in the United States, according to background information in the article. "Although severe sepsis is the most common non-cardiac cause of critical illness, the long-term impact of severe sepsis on cognitive and physical functioning is unknown," the authors write.
Theodore J. Iwashyna, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Michigan ...
Patients who survive sepsis are more than 3 times as likely to have cognitive problems
2010-10-27
Ann Arbor, Mich. — Older adults who survive severe sepsis are at higher risk for long-term cognitive impairment and physical limitations than those hospitalized for other reasons, according to researchers from the University of Michigan Health System.
Research to be published Oct. 27 in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that 60 percent of hospitalizations for severe sepsis were associated with worsened cognitive and physical function among surviving older adults. The odds of acquiring moderate to severe cognitive impairment were 3.3 times higher ...
Colorectal cancer patients with gene mutation show better response to cancer agent
2010-10-27
Even though the cancer-treatment agent cetuximab is not considered effective treatment for KRAS (a gene)-mutated metastatic colorectal tumors, new research indicates that patients with colorectal cancer not responding to chemotherapy and a certain variation of this gene who were treated with cetuximab had longer overall and progression-free survival than patients with other KRAS-mutations, according to a study in the October 27 issue of JAMA.
"Recent retrospective correlative analyses of metastatic colorectal cancer trials indicate that patients with KRAS-mutated tumors ...
2 clinical trials demonstrate effective weight loss strategies for obese and overweight adults
2010-10-27
Lifestyle interventions, including physical activity and structured weight loss programs, can result in significant weight loss for overweight, obese and severely obese adults, according to two reports that were posted online October 9 by JAMA. The studies and accompanying editorials were made available early online to coincide with the presentation of these papers at the 28th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Obesity Society. The articles appear in the October 27 print issue of JAMA.
According to background information in the papers, obesity is among the most significant ...
Genetic variations linked with worse outcomes with use of antiplatelet drug for cardiac procedures
2010-10-27
An analysis of data from previously published studies indicates that use of the antiplatelet drug clopidogrel for patients who have common genetic variants of a certain gene and are undergoing a procedure such as coronary stent placement have an associated increased risk for major adverse cardiovascular events, particularly development of blood clots in stents, according to a study in the October 27 issue of JAMA.
Clopidogrel, one of the most commonly prescribed medications, has been shown to reduce cardiovascular events in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention ...
Better transparency needed on medical journals' competing interests
2010-10-27
Journals need to develop policies to handle the inevitable competing interests that arise when they publish papers that may bring them reprint revenue or increase their impact factors. This is the conclusion of a research article by Andreas Lundh and colleagues from the Nordic Cochrane Centre published in this weeks PLoS Medicine. An accompanying perspective by Harvey Marcovitch, ex-chair of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and an editorial from the PLoS Medicine Editors discusses this issue further, concluding that journals should apply the same degree of transparency ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Heart-brain connection: international study reveals the role of the vagus nerve in keeping the heart young
Researchers identify Rb1 as a predictive biomarker for a new therapeutic strategy in some breast cancers
Survey reveals ethical gaps slowing AI adoption in pediatric surgery
Stimulant ADHD medications work differently than thought
AI overestimates how smart people are, according to HSE economists
HSE researchers create genome-wide map of quadruplexes
Scientists boost cell "powerhouses" to burn more calories
Automatic label checking: The missing step in making reliable medical AI
Low daily alcohol intake linked to 50% heightened mouth cancer risk in India
American Meteorological Society announces Rick Spinrad as 2026 President-Elect
Biomass-based carbon capture spotlighted in newly released global climate webinar recording
Illuminating invisible nano pollutants: advanced bioimaging tracks the full journey of emerging nanoscale contaminants in living systems
How does age affect recovery from spinal cord injury?
Novel AI tool offers prognosis for patients with head and neck cancer
Fathers’ microplastic exposure tied to their children’s metabolic problems
Research validates laboratory model for studying high-grade serous ovarian cancer
SIR 2026 delivers transformative breakthroughs in minimally invasive medicine to improve patient care
Stem Cell Reports most downloaded papers of 2025 highlight the breadth and impact of stem cell research
Oxford-led study estimates NHS spends around 3% of its primary and secondary care budget on the health impacts of heat and cold in England
A researcher’s long quest leads to a smart composite breakthrough
Urban wild bees act as “microbial sensors” of city health.
New study finds where you live affects recovery after a hip fracture
Forecasting the impact of fully automated vehicle adoption on US road traffic injuries
Alcohol-related hospitalizations from 2016 to 2022
Semaglutide and hospitalizations in patients with obesity and established cardiovascular disease
Researchers ‘listen in’ to embryo-mother interactions during implantation using a culture system replicating the womb lining
How changing your diet could help save the world
How to make AI truly scalable and reliable for real-time traffic assignment?
Beyond fragmented markets: A new framework for efficient and stable ride-pooling
Can shape priors make road perception more reliable for autonomous driving?
[Press-News.org] Alliance Benefit Group Receives Industry AwardABG was named the winner of the Retail Retirement Income Communications Award sponsored by Investment News.

