When you're saving for retirement, the ups and down in the market can make it challenging to stay the course. You may be looking for growth potential and a level of protection to help eliminate some of the risks of investing. The RiverSource Structured Solutions℠ annuity is designed with these advantages, offering you a balanced solution to help you meet your financial goals.

What is a structured annuity?

A structured annuity is a long-term retirement investment that can help you:

• Gain exposure to equity markets

• Create income

• Safeguard your money with a level of protection that may help lessen the impact of negative performance

• Protect your beneficiaries with a death benefit guarantee (age limitations apply)

With a RiverSource Structured Solutions annuity, you can allocate your money between a variety of indexed accounts. These indexed accounts are based on six well-known equity market indexes and an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), providing exposure to U.S. equities and international equities, including emerging markets.

Your rate of return will be linked to the performance of the underlying indexes, but you will never be directly invested in the market. You can benefit from some protection from losses along the way, giving you the potential to weather the ups and downs of the market.

A structured solution to help you achieve your goals

The RiverSource Structured Solutions annuity offers the following advantages:

• Exposure to equity markets: The RiverSource Structured Solutions annuity offers you equity market exposure, giving you the growth potential you need to help achieve your goals. With access to dozens of indexed accounts linked to well-known equity indexes, you can customize your annuity to meet your specific needs.

• The potential for growth or yield: Your money can grow based on the crediting method of the indexed accounts you select. Four crediting methods provide returns that track to the performance of the underlying index. A fifth offers the potential to earn a predetermined yield and a way to systematically take the yield as income in years when it is earned. When you allocate money to an indexed account, you create a segment, which will mature in one, two, three or six years. Your earning potential will be based on the performance of the underlying index (up to a cap or subject to a fee) or a predetermined yield.^*

• A level of protection: Each indexed account includes a protection option – a buffer, a floor or a trigger – that may provide a certain level of protection against loss when the index rate of return is negative. You can choose to diversify your protection levels by allocating across multiple indexed accounts. While you can still lose money, you will have a safeguard in place that may help lessen the impact of negative performance.

• A cost-effective way to invest: There are options to reduce or eliminate fees when segments are held to maturity.

• Protection for your beneficiaries: The standard death benefit guarantee is a unique benefit of the RiverSource Structured Solutions annuity. This guarantee protects your investment for your heirs, even if your annuity contract loses value. Your beneficiaries are guaranteed to receive at least your principal -- adjusted proportionately for any withdrawals -- no matter how your annuity performs. The benefit is available at no additional charge if you are age 80 or younger when you purchase your annuity.

Getting started

Minimum initial purchase payment: Non-Qualified: $10,000; Qualified: $10,000 (not available for 501c(3))

Additional purchase payments: Allowed only in the 90 days after the contract issue date. These payments will be held in an interim account earning daily fixed interest until your next contract anniversary, when they will automatically transfer out per your election instructions.

Maximum issue age: 90

Only 63% of surveyed workers are currently saving for retirement.