Bureau of Economic Analysis (US Department of Commerce)

EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT 8:30 A.M. EDT, FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2013
 BEA 13-22

James Rankin: (202) 606-5301 (Personal Income) piniwd@bea.gov
Harvey Davis: (202) 606-5302 (Personal Consumption Expenditures) pce@bea.gov

 PERSONAL INCOME AND OUTLAYS: APRIL 2013

 Personal income decreased $5.6 billion, or less than 0.1 percent, and disposable personal income
(DPI) decreased $16.1 billion, or 0.1 percent, in April, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) decreased $20.5 billion, or 0.2 percent. In March,
personal income increased $36.2 billion, or 0.3 percent, DPI increased $25.4 billion, or 0.2 percent,
and PCE increased $14.2 billion, or 0.1 percent, based on revised estimates.

 Real disposable income increased 0.1 percent in April, compared with an increase of 0.3 percent
 in March. Real PCE increased 0.1 percent, compared with an increase of 0.2 percent. 2012 2013

This news release presents revised estimates of wages and salaries, personal taxes, and contributions for
government social insurance for October through December 2012 (fourth quarter). These estimates reflect
the incorporation of newly available fourth-quarter wage and salary tabulations from the quarterly census
of employment and wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

NOTE. Monthly estimates are expressed at seasonally adjusted annual rates, unless otherwise specified.
Month-to-month dollar changes are differences between these published estimates. Month-to-month
percent changes are calculated from unrounded data and are not annualized. “Real” estimates are in
chained (2005) dollars.

 This news release is available on BEA’s Web site at www.bea.gov/newsreleases/rels.htm.

Wages and salaries

Private wage and salary disbursements increased $1.6 billion in April, compared with an increase
of $16.3 billion in March. Goods-producing industries' payrolls decreased $2.0 billion, in contrast to
an increase of $0.7 billion; manufacturing payrolls decreased $2.1 billion, in contrast to an increase of
$0.2 billion. Services-producing industries' payrolls increased $3.7 billion, compared with an increase
of $15.6 billion. Government wage and salary disbursements increased $0.2 billion, in contrast to a
decrease of $0.4 billion.

Other personal income

Supplements to wages and salaries increased $2.1 billion in April, compared with an increase of
$3.1 billion in March.
 Proprietors' income decreased $8.3 billion in April, in contrast to an increase of $5.5 billion in
March. Farm proprietors' income decreased $11.3 billion, in contrast to an increase of $7.8 billion.
Nonfarm proprietors' income increased $3.0 billion, in contrast to a decrease of $2.3 billion.

 Rental income of persons increased $0.5 billion in April, compared with an increase of $12.6
billion in March. Personal income receipts on assets (personal interest income plus personal dividend
income) increased $12.6 billion, in contrast to a decrease of $4.6 billion.

 Personal current transfer receipts decreased $13.7 billion in April, in contrast to an increase of
$6.0 billion in March. Within current transfer receipts, government social benefits to persons for
social security decreased $9.6 billion, in contrast to an increase of $6.4 billion.

 Contributions for government social insurance -- a subtraction in calculating personal income --
increased $0.6 billion in April, compared with an increase of $2.5 billion in March.
Personal current taxes and disposable personal income
 Personal current taxes increased $10.4 billion in April, compared with an increase of $10.8 billion
in March. Disposable personal income (DPI) -- personal income less personal current taxes --
decreased $16.1 billion, or 0.1 percent, in April, in contrast to an increase of $25.4 billion, or 0.2
percent in March.

Personal outlays and personal saving 

 Personal outlays -- PCE, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments --
decreased $21.7 billion in April, in contrast to an increase of $16.4 billion in March. PCE decreased
$20.5 billion, in contrast to an increase of $14.2 billion.

 Personal saving -- DPI less personal outlays -- was $306.9 billion in April, compared with $301.4
billion in March. The personal saving rate -- personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal
income -- was 2.5 percent in April, the same as in March. For a comparison of personal saving in
BEA’s national income and product accounts with personal saving in the Federal Reserve Board’s
flow of funds accounts and data on changes in net worth, go to

http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/Nipa-Frb.asp.

Real DPI, real PCE and price index

 Real DPI -- DPI adjusted to remove price changes -- increased 0.1 percent in April, compared
with an increase of 0.3 percent in March.

 Real PCE -- PCE adjusted to remove price changes -- increased 0.1 percent in April, compared
with an increase of 0.2 percent in March. Purchases of durable goods increased 0.7 percent, in
contrast to a decrease of less than 0.1 percent. Purchases of nondurable goods increased 0.1 percent,
in contrast to a decrease of 0.2 percent. Purchases of services decreased 0.1 percent, in contrast to an
increase of 0.4 percent.

 The price index for PCE decreased 0.3 percent in April, compared with a decrease of 0.1 percent
in March. The PCE price index, excluding food and energy, increased less than 0.1 percent,
compared with an increase of 0.1 percent. -more-


Revisions
 Estimates for personal income and DPI have been revised for October through March; estimates
for PCE have been revised for January through March. Changes in personal income, current-dollar
and chained (2005) dollar DPI, and current-dollar and chained (2005) dollar PCE for February and
March -- revised and as published in last month's release -- are shown below.

 Estimates of wages and salaries were revised from October through March. The revision to
fourth-quarter wages and salaries reflected the incorporation of the most recently available BLS
tabulations of the fourth-quarter wages and salaries from the quarterly census of employment and
wages (QCEW). The QCEW data include irregular pay, such as bonuses and gains from the exercise
of stock options. Accelerated bonuses in anticipation of changes to individual income tax rates were
reflected in the fourth-quarter QCEW data.



 Estimates for personal income and DPI have been revised for October through March; estimates
for PCE have been revised for January through March. Changes in personal income, current-dollar
and chained (2005) dollar DPI, and current-dollar and chained (2005) dollar PCE for February and
March -- revised and as published in last month's release -- are shown below.
 Estimates of wages and salaries were revised from October through March. The revision to
fourth-quarter wages and salaries reflected the incorporation of the most recently available BLS
tabulations of the fourth-quarter wages and salaries from the quarterly census of employment and
wages (QCEW). The QCEW data include irregular pay, such as bonuses and gains from the exercise
of stock options. Accelerated bonuses in anticipation of changes to individual income tax rates were
reflected in the fourth-quarter QCEW data.


Comprehensive Revision of the National Income and Product Accounts 

As part of the 14th comprehensive (or benchmark) revision of the national income and product
accounts (NIPAs), revised estimates of personal income and outlays will be released in conjunction with
preliminary estimates for June 2013 on August 2, 2013. More information on the revision is available on
BEA’s Web site at www.bea.gov/gdp-revisions. An article in the March 2012 issue of the Survey of
Current Business discusses the upcoming changes in definitions and presentations, and an article in the
May Survey describes changes in statistical methods. An article in the September Survey will describe the
estimates in detail. Revised NIPA table stubs and news release stubs will be available in June.


BEA’s national, international, regional, and industry estimates; the Survey of Current
Business; and BEA news releases are available without charge on BEA’s Web site at www.bea.gov.
By visiting the site, you can also subscribe to receive free e-mail summaries of BEA releases and
announcements.
 * * *
Next release – June 27, 2013 at 8:30 A.M. EDT for
Personal Income and Outlays for May

Learn the Benefits of Disability Income Insurance

By America’s Health Insurance Plans

In addition to helping cover lost wages, many disability insurers are also providing a different type of benefit that is making a positive impact in the lives of workers who have suffered a debilitating illness or injury.  Through return-to-work programs, insurers are helping people with disabilities get back to work at jobs that sync with their skills, experience, and interests.

By collaborating with employers, insurers help create work environments and schedules that are modified for individuals’ unique circumstances.  Return-to-work programs also focus on rehabilitation and equipping people with the skills they need to transition back to work and reach their individualized goals.  Additional examples of the creative and innovative programs employed by disability insurers are documented in a report by America’s Health Insurance Plans.   

Unfortunately, the risk of suffering a disability is much higher than most people are aware.  According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), a male U.S. worker at age 35 faces a one-in-five chance of a disability taking him off his job for 90 days or longer.  Before a 35-year-old woman reaches retirement age, she faces a nearly one-in-three risk of a disability lasting at least 90 days.

Disability insurance provides peace of mind to millions of individuals and their families, offering financial protection if an illness or injury takes them off the job.  Employer-sponsored disability coverage provides income protection to more than 50 million employees for short-term disabilities and about 40 million employees for long-term disabilities.  In 2010, long-term disability payments from private insurers to individuals with disabilities totaled more than $8.1 billion.

To learn more about the value of disability income insurance and the innovative programs helping individuals get back to work, go to www.yourincomeatrisk.org or download or order a free copy of “Guide to Disability Income Insurance.”

Fixed Annuities

Whether you've already retired or are approaching retirement, you have a lot of choices when it comes to how you’ll create and draw your retirement income.

As you make decisions about how you’ll fund your retirement, you must first consider a few key questions:

What are your short-term and long-term goals?

A fixed annuity is great for people who:

• Are looking for tax-deferred growth
• Want a fixed rate of return so they know exactly what their money is earning.
• Want minimum guarantees not available in other financial vehicles.

A fixed annuity is a policy that you can purchase, and in turn we will pay you a fixed, stated rate of return. The interest rate is guaranteed for a certain period of time, such as a contract year, and then the rate may change. You will be notified of what your new rate will be and then that rate is locked in for another period of time, for example, another contract year.

There’s also a “minimum” guarantee rate so you know that your money will always earn a certain amount no matter how low interest rates fall. All guarantees are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

While your money is in the annuity the interest credited to the contract grows tax-deferred, meaning you will not pay any taxes on the growth of your money until you decide to make a withdrawal.

Because you’re not paying any taxes on those earnings, your money actually grows faster because the money that would have gone to the IRS gets to stay in the annuity and continue to compound.

Access to your money

It’s important to remember that an annuity is for long term investing. If you need money from your annuity in the early years of your contract, there may be a surrender charge if the amount you need is more than the free withdrawal amount you’re allowed to take each year, usually 10%. (IRS will also look for his income tax on earnings that you take out as well.)

Because the IRS is letting your money grow tax-deferred, they want to make sure that you are in it for the long haul, too. Early withdrawals and other distributions of taxable amounts may be subject to ordinary income tax, a surrender charge, and if taken prior to age 59½, an IRS 10% premature distribution penalty tax may apply. Withdrawals from fixed annuities also may be subject to a Market Value Adjustment (MVA). There may be exceptions to this rule that your financial professional can tell you about, but in general, you should plan to keep your money in past that birthday.

There’s also a silver lining if you’re saving for retirement. If you’re familiar with IRAs, you may know that you have to start taking money out of your IRA when you turn 70½ even if you don’t need the income. Well, as long as your annuity is not in an IRA, you don’t have to take that money until you’re darn good and ready to. (If you buy an annuity with a stated maturity date or age, such as age 100, you would have to take it then.)

IRAs and other qualified plans already provide tax deferral like that provided by an annuity. Additional features and benefits, such as contract guarantees, death benefits and the ability to receive lifetime income are contained within the annuity for a cost. Please be sure the features other than tax deferral and costs of the annuity are right for you when considering the purchase of an annuity for IRAs and other qualified plans.

How do you take income from your annuity?

There are almost as many income and withdrawal options on annuities as there are types of annuities. Please see the prospectus or contract disclosure for additional costs.

When you’re ready to start taking income and spend your annuity, you can:

• Take random “lump sum” withdrawals any time you want
• Set up a systematic withdrawal program. You tell us how much you want and how often, when to start and when to stop. This gives you the most flexibility, but you could outlive your money if you spend too much too fast.
• Annuitize the contract to set up a guaranteed income stream. This is the option where we will guarantee your income for you, regardless of how long you live, even if you make it to 120.

If you die while your annuity contract is in force, and you have named a beneficiary, the full value of your fixed annuity can generally pass to your heirs without the cost and delay of probate. If you've already annuitized your contract for a guaranteed income stream, the income option you chose will determine how much money may go to your heirs.

Let’s Recap

Depending on your answers to these and other important questions, annuities may be a good choice for a portion of your retirement savings. Annuities can help you reach your retirement-planning goals with the choice, control, and flexibility they offer.

Annuities offered through the ING family of companies can provide you:

CHOICE

Depending on the type of annuity and your risk tolerance, you can choose how your money earns interest.

CONTROL

Annuities allow you to choose your retirement income. You decide how much guaranteed income you want – and when you want it.

FLEXIBILITY

ING family of companies offers innovative living benefits, death benefits, income options, and contract guarantees. You have the flexibility to choose the annuity options that are right for you.

Learn more about annuity choices offered through the ING family of companies by visiting with your financial services professional. He/she can help you determine what type of annuity may be right for a portion of your retirement savings.

Need help with an ING Family of Companies' Annuity or claim request?

For Fixed, Index & Immediate Annuities: Call 262-290-5210.

Annuities are issued by ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Company (Des Moines, IA), and ING Life Insurance and Annuity Company (“ILIAC”, Windsor, CT). Registered fixed annuities are distributed by Directed Services LLC. All are members of the ING U.S. family of companies.