J.P. Morgan Helps 401k Participants in Retirement with SmartRetirement Plus, Incorporating a Protected Lifetime Income Solution from AIG Life & Retirement

NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- J.P. Morgan Asset Management today announced plans to launch SmartRetirement Plus, a unique retirement income solution for American workers. SmartRetirement Plus will pair J.P. Morgan Asset Management's retirement investment funds and spending intelligence with AIG Life & Retirement's IncomEdge Control annuity^[1]. AIG Life & Retirement is an innovator in protected lifetime income solutions and a leading provider of annuities. J.P. Morgan Asset Management expects to expand the suite of annuities offered by third-party insurers through SmartRetirement Plus in the future.

SmartRetirement Plus will leverage J.P. Morgan's unique insights into spending and saving behavior of U.S. households to educate participants on how much income they will need in retirement and help them determine how to allocate balances accordingly. The solution will provide options to direct retirement savings from J.P. Morgan Asset Management's retirement investment funds to a protected lifetime income product from AIG Life & Retirement^[2], and options to help participants determine when to begin receiving this income.

Participants will also have the flexibility to make allocation decisions to account for their unique spending needs, all while maintaining access to their money. The new solution follows recent plan participant research^[3] from J.P. Morgan Asset Management, which reveals that 85% of participants would likely leave their balances in their plans post-retirement if there was an option to help generate monthly retirement income.

SmartRetirement Plus will be delivered through an intuitive digital experience that provides participants with information on how to convert retirement plan savings into retirement income. The participant journey will emphasize convenience and access to insights on typical spending and savings behavior to drive informed decision-making and simplify the user experience.

Supporting Participants Post-Retirement

Alongside these enhancements, the firm plans to modify its investment strategy across its JPMorgan SmartRetirement and SmartRetirement Blend target date funds, after each fund reaches its respective target retirement year (the year in its name) to incorporate the methodology used by the JPMorgan SmartSpending Funds, thereby integrating the two series. The integrated series will use an asset allocation strategy designed with two main goals: promoting asset accumulation prior to the target retirement year (age 65), and supporting participants withdrawing a portion of their investment in the integrated funds each year over a 35 year period. 

J.P. Morgan Asset Management will produce an annual sample withdrawal amount, a hypothetical example designed to balance income needs in the current year against the need for income in the future. This feature for the integrated series is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2022. With nearly 7 out of 10 participants concerned about outliving their money in retirement^[3], participants may use the sample withdrawal amount as a consideration in determining how much of their investment to withdraw each year.

"J.P. Morgan Asset Management is committed to solving the retirement income challenges of everyday people," said George Gatch, Chief Executive Officer, J.P. Morgan Asset Management. "With the decline in pension plan availability, the risk and responsibility of securing a sound retirement has been transferred from institutions to individuals, and we continue to evolve our SmartRetirement solutions to support participants through this transition."  

"The retirement industry has been exploring the issue of retirement income for some time, and we believe the new SmartRetirement Plus solution and SmartRetirement changes can help more Americans successfully transition from saving during their working years to making the most of those savings in retirement," said Jed Laskowitz, Global Head of Solutions, J.P. Morgan Asset Management. "Our fully-integrated experience is built on our deep insight into the behavior of plan participants and helps educate participants seeking to map out their retirement income needs and identify retirement income sources."

"We are very pleased to be working with J.P. Morgan Asset Management to help employers deliver a simple process for their employees to turn retirement savings into protected lifetime income," said Rob Scheinerman, Chief Executive Officer, AIG Retirement Services. "We will help bring retirees the confidence and peace of mind that comes with creating a retirement income they can have for their entire life."

About J.P. Morgan Asset Management

J.P. Morgan Asset Management, with assets under management of USD 2.6 trillion (as of 30 June 2021), is a global leader in investment management. J.P. Morgan Asset Management's clients include institutions, retail investors and high net worth individuals in every major market throughout the world. J.P. Morgan Asset Management offers global investment management in equities, fixed income, real estate, hedge funds, private equity and liquidity. For more information: am.jpmorgan.com

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $3.7 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of customers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at jpmorganchase.com

J.P. Morgan Asset Management is the marketing name for the asset management businesses of JPMorgan Chase & Co., and its affiliates worldwide.

The SmartRetirement feature provides projections and other information regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes, which are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results and are not guarantees of future results. 

The SmartRetirement feature is educational in nature and is not designed to be a recommendation of any specific investment product, strategy, plan feature or other purposes. 

Prior to making an investment decision, investors should seek individualized advice from personal financial, legal, tax and other professionals that take into account all of the particular facts and circumstances of an investor's own situation.

DATA PRIVACY: We have a number of security protocols in place which are designed to ensure all customer data are kept confidential and secure. We use reasonable physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that are designed to comply with federal standards to protect and limit access to personal information. There are several key controls and policies in place which are designed to ensure customer data are safe, secure and anonymous: (1) Before J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) receives the data, all selected data is highly aggregated and all unique identifiable information, including names, account numbers, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers, is removed. (2) JPMAM has put privacy protocols for its researchers in place. Researchers are obligated to use the data solely for approved research and are obligated not to re-identify any individual represented in the data. (3) JPMAM does not allow the publication of any information about an individual or entity. Any data point included in any publication based on customer data may only reflect aggregate information. (4) The data are stored on a secure server and can be accessed only under strict security procedures. Researchers are not permitted to export the data outside of JPMorgan Chase's (JPMC) systems. The system complies with all JPMC Information Technology Risk Management requirements for the monitoring and security of data. (5) JPMAM provides valuable insights to policymakers, businesses and financial professionals, but these insights cannot come at the expense of consumer privacy. We take every precaution to ensure the confidence and security of our account holders' private information. 

About AIG Life & Retirement

AIG Life & Retirement, a division of AIG (NYSE: AIG), brings together a broad portfolio of protection, retirement savings, investment and lifetime income solutions to help people achieve financial and retirement security. The business consists of four operating segments – Individual Retirement, AIG Retirement Services, Life Insurance and Institutional Markets – and holds longstanding, leading market positions in many of the markets it serves. Additional information about AIG Life & Retirement can be found at lifeandretirement.aig.com.

The IncomEdge Control annuity is a single premium deferred fixed annuity issued by The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company (VALIC), Houston, TX. VALIC is responsible for financial obligations of its insurance products, and guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of VALIC.  Products and services may not be available in all states and product features may vary by state. IncomEdge Control is not currently available in state of New York. Policy Form #VG-224 (7/21)

AIG Retirement Services represents The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company, Houston, TX and its subsidiaries, VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc. and VALIC Retirement Services Company. Securities and investment advisory services offered through VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc., member FINRA, SIPC and an SEC-registered investment adviser, 2919 Allen Pkwy, L03-20, Houston, TX 77019-2158. All companies are members of American International Group, Inc. (AIG).

Copyright 2021 JPMorgan Chase & Co. All rights reserved.

^[1] The IncomEdge Control annuity is issued by The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company (VALIC), Houston TX.

^[2] VALIC is responsible for financial obligations of its protected lifetime income products, and guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of VALIC.

^[3] J.P. Morgan Asset Management 2021 Defined Contribution Plan Participant Survey.

SOURCE J.P. Morgan Asset Management