Putnam Investments Creates iPhone App to Enable Shoppers to ‘Impulse Save’ for Retirement
June 06 2011 - 10:46AM
Business Wire
Putnam Investments today announced that it is launching the
Putnam PriceCheck&SaveSM iPhone application for participants in
401(k) plans to help individuals understand the important
relationship between current consumer spending and the potential
impact it can have on future income in retirement.
The app enables participants in Putnam 401(k) plans to use their
iPhone camera to scan the bar code of most sales items to register
price, comparison-shop across other retailers to seek a lower cost,
see the potential cost savings in terms of future monthly income in
retirement, and immediately direct the price differential to the
individual’s 401(k) account.
“Putnam’s PriceCheck&Save app is a powerful new way to
demonstrate the eye-opening trade-off between spending today and
its future financial impact on an individual’s retirement –
translated through the critically-important language of income,”
said Edmund F. Murphy, III, Head of Defined Contribution, Putnam
Investments. “By using leading mobile technology, we are trying to
change behavior from impulse spending to impulse saving – all with
a few taps on their iPhone.”
Murphy explained that the larger educational effort motivating
the launch of the tool is designed to showcase the harmonious
present-day connection between thoughtful purchasing and the
ability to save for the future, by looking through the lens of
retirement income. “Putnam is hoping to create greater
understanding in the marketplace about the critically important
relationship between individuals’ spending of current income and
saving of current income on their future retirement income.
Spending and saving do not need to be mutually exclusive
activities.” he noted.
Continuing Focus on the Language of Income
Putnam’s proprietary Lifetime IncomeSM Analysis Tool helps
advisors and their clients model how much monthly income their
savings might generate in retirement and determine whether
investors are on track to maintain their current lifestyle once
they stop working. Early use by participants in Putnam-managed
401(k) plans shows that a significant number of employees changed
their savings deferral rates.
At the end of December 2010, nearly 34 percent of 401(k)
participants who interacted with the firm’s Lifetime IncomeSM
Analysis Tool made changes to the amount of income they deferred to
retirement savings; 80 percent of the changes were deferral
increases; and the average savings rate increase was approximately
23 percent, from 7 percent of income to 8.6 percent. The figures
are based on initial results*, which confirms the research that was
instrumental in creating the tool, according to Putnam.
Putnam Investments and Retirement
Since Robert L. Reynolds, a 30-year retirement savings industry
veteran, became Putnam’s President and CEO in 2008, the company has
deepened its commitment to the retirement market and launched a
series of innovations and initiatives to meet emerging customer
needs. In recognition of its leadership in retirement savings,
Putnam was named the inaugural recipient of the “Retirement Leader
of the Year” award at the 2011 annual Mutual Fund Industry
Awards.
In addition to such initiatives as the Lifetime IncomeSM
Analysis Tool, Putnam also has announced plans to launch a suite of
income-oriented mutual funds that aim to help advisors work with
retirees in developing strategies for monthly income flows, at
varying levels of risk tolerance, to flexibly address their
changing lifestyle financial needs throughout retirement.
Putnam RetirementReady® Funds, the firm’s suite of 10
target-date/lifecycle retirement funds, were the first suite of
lifecycle funds to integrate Absolute Return Funds, which seek
positive returns over a period of three years with less volatility
than has been associated with traditional asset classes that have
earned similar rates of return. Employed in retirement portfolios,
Putnam Absolute Return Funds** are intended to pursue positive
returns in up and down markets, to help protect against the harmful
effects of adverse investment returns and to seek to reduce
volatility.
About Putnam Investments
Founded in 1937, Putnam Investments is a leading global money
management firm with over 70 years of investment experience. The
firm was recently named one of the top 15 mutual fund families by
Lipper/Barron’s for the second consecutive year. At the end of May
2011, Putnam had $129 billion in assets under management, including
mutual fund assets of $70 billion and institutional assets of $59
billion. Putnam has offices in Boston, London, Frankfurt,
Amsterdam, Tokyo, Singapore and Sydney. For more information, visit
putnam.com.
Putnam mutual funds are distributed by Putnam Retail
Management.
* Research is based on initial data gathered from the activity
of 10,000 participants in Putnam defined contribution retirement
plans, including nearly 3,000 participants that interacted with the
Putnam Lifetime Income Analysis Tool at the end of December
2010.
**Putnam’s Absolute Return Funds are not intended to outperform
stocks and bonds during strong market rallies.
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