THOR Synthorx Inc

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company ^SM

Portfolio oversight committee The investment adviser’s Portfolio Oversight Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Portfolio Oversight Committee are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The minimum amount to establish an IRA account is $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50.

For a payroll deduction retirement plan account or payroll deduction IRA, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account.

For IRAs, you may sell (redeem) shares through your dealer or financial adviser or by writing to American Funds Service Company at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at 800/421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at 888/421-4351; or accessing our website at americanfunds.com.

Eligible retirement plans generally may open an account and purchase Class A or R shares by contacting any investment dealer authorized to sell these classes of the fund’s shares. Investment dealers may impose transaction charges in addition to those described in this prospectus. Please contact your plan administrator or recordkeeper in order to sell (redeem) shares from your retirement plan.

Tax information

Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-deferred retirement plan accounts and IRAs are not currently taxable.

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and the fund’s distributor or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your individual financial adviser to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

American Funds 2050 Target Date Retirement Fund

Investment objectives

Depending on the proximity to its target date, the fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and conservation of capital. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and conservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the fund seeks to balance total return and stability over time.

Fees and expenses of the fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the “Sales charge reductions and waivers” section on page 77 of the prospectus and on page 71 of the fund’s statement of additional information.

Example This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Portfolio turnover The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s investment results. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 3% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth funds, growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds and a balanced fund and bond funds. The fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth funds seek long-term growth primarily through investing in both U.S. stocks and stocks of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. Growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth and income primarily through investments in stocks. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or bond investments, while bond funds seek current income through bond investments.

The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current investment approach, the investment adviser will continue to manage the fund for approximately thirty years after the fund reaches its target date. Thirty years after its target date, the fund may be combined with other funds in a single portfolio with an investment allocation that will not evolve beyond that which is in effect at that time.

The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of the fund by showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.

Current investment approach

The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set forth above. For example, a 40% target allocation to growth funds is not expected to be greater than 50% nor less than 30%. The investment adviser will continuously monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

Principal risks

This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund’s principal investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time. Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

Allocation risk — Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund’s assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives. For investors who are close to or in retirement, the fund’s equity exposure may result in investment volatility that could reduce an investor’s available retirement assets at a time when the investor has a need to withdraw funds. For investors who are farther from retirement, there is a risk the fund may invest too much in investments designed to ensure capital conservation and current income, which may prevent the investor from meeting his or her retirement goals.

Fund structure — The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.

Because the fund’s investments consist of underlying funds, the fund’s risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline due to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.

Investing in stocks — Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp, short-term declines in value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests.These risks will be more significant for the fund in the years preceding its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in stocks.

Investing in bonds — Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. In addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.

Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However, ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk. These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches and passes its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

Investing in lower rated bonds — Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of default or price declines due to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but determined by the underlying fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Such securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.” The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.

Investing outside the United States — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the United States. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds actively manages each underlying fund’s investments. Consequently, the underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results. This could cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall investment program.

Investment results

The following bar chart shows how the fund’s investment results have varied from year to year, and the following table shows how the fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with different broad measures of market results. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The MSCI All Country World ex USA Index represents a portion of the equity securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index represents a portion of the fixed-income securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. Past investment results are not predictive of future investment results. Updated information on the fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting americanfunds.com.

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company ^SM

Portfolio oversight committee The investment adviser’s Portfolio Oversight Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Portfolio Oversight Committee are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The minimum amount to establish an IRA account is $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50.

For a payroll deduction retirement plan account or payroll deduction IRA, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account.

For IRAs, you may sell (redeem) shares through your dealer or financial adviser or by writing to American Funds Service Company at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at 800/421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at 888/421-4351; or accessing our website at americanfunds.com.

Eligible retirement plans generally may open an account and purchase Class A or R shares by contacting any investment dealer authorized to sell these classes of the fund’s shares. Investment dealers may impose transaction charges in addition to those described in this prospectus. Please contact your plan administrator or recordkeeper in order to sell (redeem) shares from your retirement plan.

Tax information

Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-deferred retirement plan accounts and IRAs are not currently taxable.

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and the fund’s distributor or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your individual financial adviser to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

American Funds 2045 Target Date Retirement Fund

Investment objectives

Depending on the proximity to its target date, the fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and conservation of capital. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and conservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the fund seeks to balance total return and stability over time.

Fees and expenses of the fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the “Sales charge reductions and waivers” section on page 77 of the prospectus and on page 71 of the fund’s statement of additional information.

Example This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Portfolio turnover The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s investment results. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 3% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth funds, growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds and a balanced fund and bond funds. The fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth funds seek long-term growth primarily through investing in both U.S. stocks and stocks of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. Growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth and income primarily through investments in stocks. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or bond investments, while bond funds seek current income through bond investments.

The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current investment approach, the investment adviser will continue to manage the fund for approximately thirty years after the fund reaches its target date. Thirty years after its target date, the fund may be combined with other funds in a single portfolio with an investment allocation that will not evolve beyond that which is in effect at that time.

The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of the fund by showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.

Current investment approach

The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set forth above. For example, a 40% target allocation to growth funds is not expected to be greater than 50% nor less than 30%. The investment adviser will continuously monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

Principal risks

This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund’s principal investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time. Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

Allocation risk — Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund’s assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives. For investors who are close to or in retirement, the fund’s equity exposure may result in investment volatility that could reduce an investor’s available retirement assets at a time when the investor has a need to withdraw funds. For investors who are farther from retirement, there is a risk the fund may invest too much in investments designed to ensure capital conservation and current income, which may prevent the investor from meeting his or her retirement goals.

Fund structure — The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.

Because the fund’s investments consist of underlying funds, the fund’s risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline due to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.

Investing in stocks — Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp, short-term declines in value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests.These risks will be more significant for the fund in the years preceding its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in stocks.

Investing in bonds — Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. In addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.

Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However, ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk. These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches and passes its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

Investing in lower rated bonds — Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of default or price declines due to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but determined by the underlying fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Such securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.” The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.

Investing outside the United States — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the United States. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds actively manages each underlying fund’s investments. Consequently, the underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results. This could cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall investment program.

Investment results

The following bar chart shows how the fund’s investment results have varied from year to year, and the following table shows how the fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with different broad measures of market results. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The MSCI All Country World ex USA Index represents a portion of the equity securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index represents a portion of the fixed-income securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. Past investment results are not predictive of future investment results. Updated information on the fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting americanfunds.com.

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company ^SM

Portfolio oversight committee The investment adviser’s Portfolio Oversight Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Portfolio Oversight Committee are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The minimum amount to establish an IRA account is $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50.

For a payroll deduction retirement plan account or payroll deduction IRA, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account.

For IRAs, you may sell (redeem) shares through your dealer or financial adviser or by writing to American Funds Service Company at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at 800/421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at 888/421-4351; or accessing our website at americanfunds.com.

Eligible retirement plans generally may open an account and purchase Class A or R shares by contacting any investment dealer authorized to sell these classes of the fund’s shares. Investment dealers may impose transaction charges in addition to those described in this prospectus. Please contact your plan administrator or recordkeeper in order to sell (redeem) shares from your retirement plan.

Tax information

Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-deferred retirement plan accounts and IRAs are not currently taxable.

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and the fund’s distributor or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your individual financial adviser to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

American Funds 2040 Target Date Retirement Fund

Investment objectives

Depending on the proximity to its target date, the fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and conservation of capital. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and conservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the fund seeks to balance total return and stability over time.

Fees and expenses of the fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the “Sales charge reductions and waivers” section on page 77 of the prospectus and on page 71 of the fund’s statement of additional information.

Example This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Portfolio turnover The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s investment results. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 2% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth funds, growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds and a balanced fund and bond funds. The fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth funds seek long-term growth primarily through investing in both U.S. stocks and stocks of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. Growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth and income primarily through investments in stocks. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or bond investments, while bond funds seek current income through bond investments.

The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current investment approach, the investment adviser will continue to manage the fund for approximately thirty years after the fund reaches its target date. Thirty years after its target date, the fund may be combined with other funds in a single portfolio with an investment allocation that will not evolve beyond that which is in effect at that time.

The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of the fund by showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.

Current investment approach

The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set forth above. For example, a 40% target allocation to growth funds is not expected to be greater than 50% nor less than 30%. The investment adviser will continuously monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

Principal risks

This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund’s principal investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time. Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

Allocation risk — Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund’s assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives. For investors who are close to or in retirement, the fund’s equity exposure may result in investment volatility that could reduce an investor’s available retirement assets at a time when the investor has a need to withdraw funds. For investors who are farther from retirement, there is a risk the fund may invest too much in investments designed to ensure capital conservation and current income, which may prevent the investor from meeting his or her retirement goals.

Fund structure — The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.

Because the fund’s investments consist of underlying funds, the fund’s risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline due to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.

Investing in stocks — Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp, short-term declines in value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests.These risks will be more significant for the fund in the years preceding its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in stocks.

Investing in bonds — Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. In addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.

Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However, ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk. These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches and passes its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

Investing in lower rated bonds — Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of default or price declines due to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but determined by the underlying fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Such securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.” The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.

Investing outside the United States — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the United States. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds actively manages each underlying fund’s investments. Consequently, the underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results. This could cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall investment program.

Investment results

The following bar chart shows how the fund’s investment results have varied from year to year, and the following table shows how the fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with different broad measures of market results. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The MSCI All Country World ex USA Index represents a portion of the equity securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index represents a portion of the fixed-income securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. Past investment results are not predictive of future investment results. Updated information on the fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting americanfunds.com.

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company ^SM

Portfolio oversight committee The investment adviser’s Portfolio Oversight Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Portfolio Oversight Committee are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The minimum amount to establish an IRA account is $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50.

For a payroll deduction retirement plan account or payroll deduction IRA, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account.

For IRAs, you may sell (redeem) shares through your dealer or financial adviser or by writing to American Funds Service Company at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at 800/421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at 888/421-4351; or accessing our website at americanfunds.com.

Eligible retirement plans generally may open an account and purchase Class A or R shares by contacting any investment dealer authorized to sell these classes of the fund’s shares. Investment dealers may impose transaction charges in addition to those described in this prospectus. Please contact your plan administrator or recordkeeper in order to sell (redeem) shares from your retirement plan.

Tax information

Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-deferred retirement plan accounts and IRAs are not currently taxable.

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and the fund’s distributor or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your individual financial adviser to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

American Funds 2035 Target Date Retirement Fund

Investment objectives

Depending on the proximity to its target date, the fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and conservation of capital. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and conservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the fund seeks to balance total return and stability over time.

Fees and expenses of the fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the “Sales charge reductions and waivers” section on page 77 of the prospectus and on page 71 of the fund’s statement of additional information.

Example This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Portfolio turnover The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s investment results. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 3% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth funds, growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds and a balanced fund and bond funds. The fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth funds seek long-term growth primarily through investing in both U.S. stocks and stocks of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. Growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth and income primarily through investments in stocks. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or bond investments, while bond funds seek current income through bond investments.

The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current investment approach, the investment adviser will continue to manage the fund for approximately thirty years after the fund reaches its target date. Thirty years after its target date, the fund may be combined with other funds in a single portfolio with an investment allocation that will not evolve beyond that which is in effect at that time.

The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of the fund by showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.

Current investment approach

The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set forth above. For example, a 40% target allocation to growth funds is not expected to be greater than 50% nor less than 30%. The investment adviser will continuously monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

Principal risks

This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund’s principal investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time. Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

Allocation risk — Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund’s assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives. For investors who are close to or in retirement, the fund’s equity exposure may result in investment volatility that could reduce an investor’s available retirement assets at a time when the investor has a need to withdraw funds. For investors who are farther from retirement, there is a risk the fund may invest too much in investments designed to ensure capital conservation and current income, which may prevent the investor from meeting his or her retirement goals.

Fund structure — The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.

Because the fund’s investments consist of underlying funds, the fund’s risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline due to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.

Investing in stocks — Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp, short-term declines in value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests.These risks will be more significant for the fund in the years preceding its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in stocks.

Investing in bonds — Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. In addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.

Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However, ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk. These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches and passes its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

Investing in lower rated bonds — Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of default or price declines due to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but determined by the underlying fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Such securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.” The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.

Investing outside the United States — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the United States. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds actively manages each underlying fund’s investments. Consequently, the underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results. This could cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall investment program.

Investment results

The following bar chart shows how the fund’s investment results have varied from year to year, and the following table shows how the fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with different broad measures of market results. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The MSCI All Country World ex USA Index represents a portion of the equity securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index represents a portion of the fixed-income securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. Past investment results are not predictive of future investment results. Updated information on the fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting americanfunds.com.

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company ^SM

Portfolio oversight committee The investment adviser’s Portfolio Oversight Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Portfolio Oversight Committee are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The minimum amount to establish an IRA account is $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50.

For a payroll deduction retirement plan account or payroll deduction IRA, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account.

For IRAs, you may sell (redeem) shares through your dealer or financial adviser or by writing to American Funds Service Company at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at 800/421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at 888/421-4351; or accessing our website at americanfunds.com.

Eligible retirement plans generally may open an account and purchase Class A or R shares by contacting any investment dealer authorized to sell these classes of the fund’s shares. Investment dealers may impose transaction charges in addition to those described in this prospectus. Please contact your plan administrator or recordkeeper in order to sell (redeem) shares from your retirement plan.

Tax information

Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-deferred retirement plan accounts and IRAs are not currently taxable.

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and the fund’s distributor or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your individual financial adviser to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

American Funds 2030 Target Date Retirement Fund

Investment objectives

Depending on the proximity to its target date, the fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and conservation of capital. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and conservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the fund seeks to balance total return and stability over time.

Fees and expenses of the fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the “Sales charge reductions and waivers” section on page 77 of the prospectus and on page 71 of the fund’s statement of additional information.

Example This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Portfolio turnover The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s investment results. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 4% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth funds, growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds and a balanced fund and bond funds. The fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth funds seek long-term growth primarily through investing in both U.S. stocks and stocks of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. Growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth and income primarily through investments in stocks. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or bond investments, while bond funds seek current income through bond investments.

The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current investment approach, the investment adviser will continue to manage the fund for approximately thirty years after the fund reaches its target date. Thirty years after its target date, the fund may be combined with other funds in a single portfolio with an investment allocation that will not evolve beyond that which is in effect at that time.

The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of the fund by showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.

Current investment approach

The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set forth above. For example, a 40% target allocation to growth funds is not expected to be greater than 50% nor less than 30%. The investment adviser will continuously monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

Principal risks

This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund’s principal investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time. Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

Allocation risk — Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund’s assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives. For investors who are close to or in retirement, the fund’s equity exposure may result in investment volatility that could reduce an investor’s available retirement assets at a time when the investor has a need to withdraw funds. For investors who are farther from retirement, there is a risk the fund may invest too much in investments designed to ensure capital conservation and current income, which may prevent the investor from meeting his or her retirement goals.

Fund structure — The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.

Because the fund’s investments consist of underlying funds, the fund’s risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline due to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.

Investing in stocks — Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp, short-term declines in value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests.These risks will be more significant for the fund in the years preceding its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in stocks.

Investing in bonds — Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. In addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.

Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However, ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk. These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches and passes its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

Investing in lower rated bonds — Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of default or price declines due to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but determined by the underlying fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Such securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.” The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.

Investing outside the United States — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the United States. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds actively manages each underlying fund’s investments. Consequently, the underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results. This could cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall investment program.

Investment results

The following bar chart shows how the fund’s investment results have varied from year to year, and the following table shows how the fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with different broad measures of market results. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The MSCI All Country World ex USA Index represents a portion of the equity securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index represents a portion of the fixed-income securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. Past investment results are not predictive of future investment results. Updated information on the fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting americanfunds.com.

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company ^SM

Portfolio oversight committee The investment adviser’s Portfolio Oversight Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Portfolio Oversight Committee are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The minimum amount to establish an IRA account is $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50.

For a payroll deduction retirement plan account or payroll deduction IRA, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account.

For IRAs, you may sell (redeem) shares through your dealer or financial adviser or by writing to American Funds Service Company at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at 800/421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at 888/421-4351; or accessing our website at americanfunds.com.

Eligible retirement plans generally may open an account and purchase Class A or R shares by contacting any investment dealer authorized to sell these classes of the fund’s shares. Investment dealers may impose transaction charges in addition to those described in this prospectus. Please contact your plan administrator or recordkeeper in order to sell (redeem) shares from your retirement plan.

Tax information

Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-deferred retirement plan accounts and IRAs are not currently taxable.

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and the fund’s distributor or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your individual financial adviser to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

American Funds 2025 Target Date Retirement Fund

Investment objectives

Depending on the proximity to its target date, the fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and conservation of capital. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and conservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the fund seeks to balance total return and stability over time.

Fees and expenses of the fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the “Sales charge reductions and waivers” section on page 77 of the prospectus and on page 71 of the fund’s statement of additional information.

Example This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Portfolio turnover The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s investment results. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 3% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth funds, growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds and a balanced fund and bond funds. The fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth funds seek long-term growth primarily through investing in both U.S. stocks and stocks of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. Growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth and income primarily through investments in stocks. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or bond investments, while bond funds seek current income through bond investments.

The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current investment approach, the investment adviser will continue to manage the fund for approximately thirty years after the fund reaches its target date. Thirty years after its target date, the fund may be combined with other funds in a single portfolio with an investment allocation that will not evolve beyond that which is in effect at that time.

The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of the fund by showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.

Current investment approach

The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set forth above. For example, a 40% target allocation to growth funds is not expected to be greater than 50% nor less than 30%. The investment adviser will continuously monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

Principal risks

This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund’s principal investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time. Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

Allocation risk — Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund’s assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives. For investors who are close to or in retirement, the fund’s equity exposure may result in investment volatility that could reduce an investor’s available retirement assets at a time when the investor has a need to withdraw funds. For investors who are farther from retirement, there is a risk the fund may invest too much in investments designed to ensure capital conservation and current income, which may prevent the investor from meeting his or her retirement goals.

Fund structure — The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.

Because the fund’s investments consist of underlying funds, the fund’s risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline due to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.

Investing in stocks — Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp, short-term declines in value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests.These risks will be more significant for the fund in the years preceding its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in stocks.

Investing in bonds — Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. In addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.

Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However, ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk. These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches and passes its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

Investing in lower rated bonds — Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of default or price declines due to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but determined by the underlying fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Such securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.” The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.

Investing outside the United States — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the United States. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds actively manages each underlying fund’s investments. Consequently, the underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results. This could cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall investment program.

Investment results

The following bar chart shows how the fund’s investment results have varied from year to year, and the following table shows how the fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with different broad measures of market results. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The MSCI All Country World ex USA Index represents a portion of the equity securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index represents a portion of the fixed-income securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. Past investment results are not predictive of future investment results. Updated information on the fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting americanfunds.com.

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company ^SM

Portfolio oversight committee The investment adviser’s Portfolio Oversight Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Portfolio Oversight Committee are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The minimum amount to establish an IRA account is $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50.

For a payroll deduction retirement plan account or payroll deduction IRA, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account.

For IRAs, you may sell (redeem) shares through your dealer or financial adviser or by writing to American Funds Service Company at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at 800/421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at 888/421-4351; or accessing our website at americanfunds.com.

Eligible retirement plans generally may open an account and purchase Class A or R shares by contacting any investment dealer authorized to sell these classes of the fund’s shares. Investment dealers may impose transaction charges in addition to those described in this prospectus. Please contact your plan administrator or recordkeeper in order to sell (redeem) shares from your retirement plan.

Tax information

Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-deferred retirement plan accounts and IRAs are not currently taxable.

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and the fund’s distributor or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your individual financial adviser to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

American Funds 2020 Target Date Retirement Fund

Investment objectives

Depending on the proximity to its target date, the fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and conservation of capital. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and conservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the fund seeks to balance total return and stability over time.

Fees and expenses of the fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the “Sales charge reductions and waivers” section on page 77 of the prospectus and on page 71 of the fund’s statement of additional information.

Example This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Portfolio turnover The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s investment results. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 4% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth funds, growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds and a balanced fund and bond funds. The fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth funds seek long-term growth primarily through investing in both U.S. stocks and stocks of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. Growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth and income primarily through investments in stocks. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or bond investments, while bond funds seek current income through bond investments.

The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current investment approach, the investment adviser will continue to manage the fund for approximately thirty years after the fund reaches its target date. Thirty years after its target date, the fund may be combined with other funds in a single portfolio with an investment allocation that will not evolve beyond that which is in effect at that time.

The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of the fund by showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.

Current investment approach

The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set forth above. For example, a 40% target allocation to growth funds is not expected to be greater than 50% nor less than 30%. The investment adviser will continuously monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

Principal risks

This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund’s principal investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time. Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

Allocation risk — Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund’s assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives. For investors who are close to or in retirement, the fund’s equity exposure may result in investment volatility that could reduce an investor’s available retirement assets at a time when the investor has a need to withdraw funds. For investors who are farther from retirement, there is a risk the fund may invest too much in investments designed to ensure capital conservation and current income, which may prevent the investor from meeting his or her retirement goals.

Fund structure — The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.

Because the fund’s investments consist of underlying funds, the fund’s risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline due to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.

Investing in stocks — Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp, short-term declines in value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests.These risks will be more significant for the fund in the years preceding its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in stocks.

Investing in bonds — Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. In addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.

Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However, ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk. These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches and passes its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

Investing in lower rated bonds — Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of default or price declines due to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but determined by the underlying fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Such securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.” The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.

Investing outside the United States — The prices of securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States or with significant operations outside the United States may decline due to conditions specific to the countries or regions in which the issuer is domiciled or operates, including adverse political, social, economic or market changes in such countries or regions. The securities of issuers domiciled in certain countries outside the United States may be more volatile, less liquid and/or more difficult to value than those of U.S. issuers. Issuers in countries outside the United States may also be subject to different tax and accounting policies and different auditing, reporting, legal and regulatory standards. In addition, the value of investments outside the United States may be reduced by foreign taxes, including foreign withholding taxes on interest and dividends. Issuers in countries outside the United States may also be subject to different government and legal systems that make it difficult for the underlying fund to exercise its rights as a shareholder of the company. Further, there may be increased risks of delayed settlement of securities purchased or sold by an underlying fund. These investments may also be affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds actively manages each underlying fund’s investments. Consequently, the underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results. This could cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall investment program.

Investment results

The following bar chart shows how the fund’s investment results have varied from year to year, and the following table shows how the fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with different broad measures of market results. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The MSCI All Country World ex USA Index represents a portion of the equity securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index represents a portion of the fixed-income securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. Past investment results are not predictive of future investment results. Updated information on the fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting americanfunds.com.

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company ^SM

Portfolio oversight committee The investment adviser’s Portfolio Oversight Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Portfolio Oversight Committee are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The minimum amount to establish an IRA account is $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50.

For a payroll deduction retirement plan account or payroll deduction IRA, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account.

For IRAs, you may sell (redeem) shares through your dealer or financial adviser or by writing to American Funds Service Company at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at 800/421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at 888/421-4351; or accessing our website at americanfunds.com.

Eligible retirement plans generally may open an account and purchase Class A or R shares by contacting any investment dealer authorized to sell these classes of the fund’s shares. Investment dealers may impose transaction charges in addition to those described in this prospectus. Please contact your plan administrator or recordkeeper in order to sell (redeem) shares from your retirement plan.

Tax information

Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-deferred retirement plan accounts and IRAs are not currently taxable.

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and the fund’s distributor or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your individual financial adviser to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

American Funds 2015 Target Date Retirement Fund

Investment objectives

Depending on the proximity to its target date, the fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and conservation of capital. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and conservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the fund seeks to balance total return and stability over time.

Fees and expenses of the fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the “Sales charge reductions and waivers” section on page 77 of the prospectus and on page 71 of the fund’s statement of additional information.

Example This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Portfolio turnover The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s investment results. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 8% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth funds, growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds and a balanced fund and bond funds. The fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth funds seek long-term growth primarily through investing in both U.S. stocks and stocks of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. Growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth and income primarily through investments in stocks. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or bond investments, while bond funds seek current income through bond investments.

The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current investment approach, the investment adviser will continue to manage the fund for approximately thirty years after the fund reaches its target date. Thirty years after its target date, the fund may be combined with other funds in a single portfolio with an investment allocation that will not evolve beyond that which is in effect at that time.

The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of the fund by showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.

Current investment approach

The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set forth above. For example, a 40% target allocation to growth funds is not expected to be greater than 50% nor less than 30%. The investment adviser will continuously monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

Principal risks

This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund’s principal investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time. Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

Allocation risk — Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund’s assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives. For investors who are close to or in retirement, the fund’s equity exposure may result in investment volatility that could reduce an investor’s available retirement assets at a time when the investor has a need to withdraw funds. For investors who are farther from retirement, there is a risk the fund may invest too much in investments designed to ensure capital conservation and current income, which may prevent the investor from meeting his or her retirement goals.

Fund structure — The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.

Because the fund’s investments consist of underlying funds, the fund’s risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline due to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.

Investing in stocks — Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp, short-term declines in value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests.These risks will be more significant for the fund in the years preceding its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in stocks.

Investing in bonds — Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. In addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.

Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However, ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk. These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches and passes its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

Investing in lower rated bonds — Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of default or price declines due to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but determined by the underlying fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Such securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.” The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.

Investing outside the United States — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the United States. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds actively manages the underlying fund’s investments. Consequently, the underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results. This could cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall investment program.

Investment results

The following bar chart shows how the fund’s investment results have varied from year to year, and the following table shows how the fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with different broad measures of market results. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The MSCI All Country World ex USA Index represents a portion of the equity securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index represents a portion of the fixed-income securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. Past investment results are not predictive of future investment results. Updated information on the fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting americanfunds.com.

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company ^SM

Portfolio oversight committee The investment adviser’s Portfolio Oversight Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Portfolio Oversight Committee are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The minimum amount to establish an IRA account is $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50.

For a payroll deduction retirement plan account or payroll deduction IRA, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account.

For IRAs, you may sell (redeem) shares through your dealer or financial adviser or by writing to American Funds Service Company at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at 800/421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at 888/421-4351; or accessing our website at americanfunds.com.

Eligible retirement plans generally may open an account and purchase Class A or R shares by contacting any investment dealer authorized to sell these classes of the fund’s shares. Investment dealers may impose transaction charges in addition to those described in this prospectus. Please contact your plan administrator or recordkeeper in order to sell (redeem) shares from your retirement plan.

Tax information

Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-deferred retirement plan accounts and IRAs are not currently taxable.

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and the fund’s distributor or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your individual financial adviser to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

American Funds 2010 Target Date Retirement Fund

Investment objectives

Depending on the proximity to its target date, the fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and conservation of capital. The fund will increasingly emphasize income and conservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date. In this way, the fund seeks to balance total return and stability over time.

Fees and expenses of the fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for a Class A sales charge discount if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in American Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the “Sales charge reductions and waivers” section on page 77 of the prospectus and on page 71 of the fund’s statement of additional information.

Example This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Portfolio turnover The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s investment results. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 10% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

The fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth funds, growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds and a balanced fund and bond funds. The fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth funds seek long-term growth primarily through investing in both U.S. stocks and stocks of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. Growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth and income primarily through investments in stocks. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or bond investments, while bond funds seek current income through bond investments.

The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current investment approach, the investment adviser will continue to manage the fund for approximately thirty years after the fund reaches its target date. Thirty years after its target date, the fund’s investment allocation will not evolve beyond that which is in effect at that time.

The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of the fund by showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.

Current investment approach

The investment adviser anticipates that the fund will invest its assets within a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set forth above. For example, a 40% target allocation to growth funds is not expected to be greater than 50% nor less than 30%. The investment adviser will continuously monitor the fund and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

Principal risks

This section describes the principal risks associated with the fund’s principal investment strategies. You may lose money by investing in the fund. The likelihood of loss may be greater if you invest for a shorter period of time. Investors in the fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

Allocation risk — Investments in the fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser’s allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund’s assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives. For investors who are close to or in retirement, the fund’s equity exposure may result in investment volatility that could reduce an investor’s available retirement assets at a time when the investor has a need to withdraw funds. For investors who are farther from retirement, there is a risk the fund may invest too much in investments designed to ensure capital conservation and current income, which may prevent the investor from meeting his or her retirement goals.

Fund structure — The fund invests in underlying funds and incurs expenses related to the underlying funds. In addition, investors in the fund will incur fees to pay for certain expenses related to the operations of the fund. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund.

Because the fund’s investments consist of underlying funds, the fund’s risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline due to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.

Investing in stocks — Investing in stocks may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. As a result, the value of the underlying funds may be subject to sharp, short-term declines in value. Income provided by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of, and the capital resources available at, the companies in which the underlying fund invests.These risks will be more significant for the fund in the years preceding its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in stocks.

Investing in bonds — Rising interest rates will generally cause the prices of bonds and other debt securities to fall. Longer maturity debt securities may be subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities. In addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.

Bonds and other debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest and the security will go into default. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However, ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk. These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches and passes its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

Investing in lower rated bonds — Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of default or price declines due to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may be increased with respect to investments in bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but determined by the underlying fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Such securities are considered speculative and are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.” The value of the underlying funds may be similarly affected.

Investing outside the United States — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, or with significant operations outside the United States, may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments in the countries or regions in which the issuer operates. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the United States. Investments outside the United States may also be subject to different settlement and accounting practices and different regulatory, legal and reporting standards, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the United States. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds actively manages the underlying fund’s investments. Consequently, the underlying funds are subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results. This could cause an underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Your investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, entity or person. You should consider how this fund fits into your overall investment program.

Investment results

The following bar chart shows how the fund’s investment results have varied from year to year, and the following table shows how the fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with different broad measures of market results. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The MSCI All Country World ex USA Index represents a portion of the equity securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index represents a portion of the fixed-income securities in which certain underlying funds may invest. Past investment results are not predictive of future investment results. Updated information on the fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting americanfunds.com.

Management

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company ^SM

Portfolio oversight committee The investment adviser’s Portfolio Oversight Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds in which the fund invests. The members of the Portfolio Oversight Committee are:

Purchase and sale of fund shares

The minimum amount to establish an IRA account is $250 and the minimum to add to an account is $50.

For a payroll deduction retirement plan account or payroll deduction IRA, the minimum is $25 to establish or add to an account.

For IRAs, you may sell (redeem) shares through your dealer or financial adviser or by writing to American Funds Service Company at P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6007; telephoning American Funds Service Company at 800/421-4225; faxing American Funds Service Company at 888/421-4351; or accessing our website at americanfunds.com.

Eligible retirement plans generally may open an account and purchase Class A or R shares by contacting any investment dealer authorized to sell these classes of the fund’s shares. Investment dealers may impose transaction charges in addition to those described in this prospectus. Please contact your plan administrator or recordkeeper in order to sell (redeem) shares from your retirement plan.

Tax information

Dividends and capital gains distributed by the fund to tax-deferred retirement plan accounts and IRAs are not currently taxable.

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries

If you purchase shares of a fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and the fund’s distributor or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your individual financial adviser to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

Investment objectives, strategies and risks

Except where the context indicates otherwise, all references herein to the “fund” apply to each of the funds in the series.

The investment objectives, strategies and risks of each fund are summarized below:

Each fund in the series is designed for investors who plan to retire in, or close to, the year designated in the fund’s name. Depending on its proximity to its target date, each fund will seek to achieve the following objectives to varying degrees: growth, income and conservation of capital. For example, the 2055 Fund, a fund with more years before its target date, will emphasize growth more than a fund closer to its target date such as the 2010 Fund. As each fund approaches and passes its target date, it will increasingly emphasize income and conservation of capital by investing a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity-income and balanced funds. In this way, each fund seeks to balance total return and stability over time. These objectives may be modified by the series’ board of trustees without shareholder approval.

Each fund’s investment objective is subject to change only upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders. Each fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a mix of American Funds in different combinations and weightings. The underlying American Funds represent a variety of fund categories such as growth funds, growth-and-income funds, equity-income funds and a balanced fund, and bond funds. Further, the fund categories represent differing investment objectives. For example, growth funds seek long-term growth primarily through investing in both U.S. stocks and stocks of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. Growth-and-income funds seek long-term growth and income primarily through investments in stocks. Equity-income and balanced funds generally strive for income and growth through stocks and/or bond investments, while bond funds seek current income through bond investments.

To the extent a fund invests in one or more underlying American Funds, it will invest in Class R-6 shares of such underlying funds. Class R-6 shares have relatively low expenses, which reduce overall fund expenses. An investor holding the underlying funds directly and in the same proportions as the fund would incur lower overall expenses but would not receive the benefit of the portfolio management and other services provided by the fund. In addition to investing in a mix of American Funds, each fund may also invest in funds in the American Funds Insurance Series or other funds managed by Capital Research and Management Company and its affiliates, subject to obtaining any necessary regulatory approvals and notifying shareholders in advance.

The investment adviser may periodically rebalance or modify the asset mix of the funds and change the underlying fund investments. According to its current investment approach, the investment adviser will continue to manage each fund for approximately thirty years after the fund reaches its target date. Thirty years after its target date, each fund may be combined with other funds in a single portfolio with an investment allocation that will not evolve beyond that which is in effect at that time.

The following chart illustrates the current investment approach of each fund by showing how its investment in the various fund categories will change over time.

Current investment approach

The investment adviser anticipates that each fund will invest its assets within a range that deviates no more than 10% above or below the investment approach set forth above. For example, a 40% target allocation to growth funds is not expected to be greater than 50% nor less than 30%. The investment adviser will continuously monitor the funds and may make modifications to either the investment approach or the underlying fund allocations that the investment adviser believes could benefit shareholders.

Each fund may, from time to time, take temporary defensive positions by holding all, or a significant portion, of its assets in cash, money market instruments, shares of money market funds or other securities that may be deemed appropriate by the fund’s investment adviser.

Target Fund allocations

The following table details the percentage allocation of each fund to the underlying American Funds as of January 1, 2013. ^*

Investments in each fund are subject to risks related to the investment adviser's allocation choices. The selection of the underlying funds and the allocation of the fund's assets could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives. For investors who are close to, or in retirement, each fund's equity exposure may result in investment volatility that could reduce an investor's available retirement assets at a time when the investor has a need to withdraw funds. For investors who are further from retirement, there is a risk a fund may invest too much in investments designed to ensure capital conservation and current income, which may prevent the investor from meeting his or her retirement goals.

Because each fund's investments are concentrated in the underlying funds, each fund's risks are directly related to the risks of the underlying funds. For this reason, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in the underlying funds.

The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks, bonds and other securities held by the underlying funds may decline due to market conditions and other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of securities held by the underlying funds.

The growth-oriented common stocks and other equity-type securities (such as preferred stocks, convertible preferred stocks and convertible bonds) held by an underlying fund may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments. These risks may be even greater in the case of smaller capitalization stocks.

The income provided by income-oriented stocks and other equity-type securities (such as preferred stocks, convertible preferred stocks and convertible bonds) held by an underlying fund may be reduced by changes in the dividend policies of the companies in which the underlying fund invests and the capital resources available for dividend payments at such companies.

These risks will be more significant for a fund in the years preceding its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in stocks.

The prices of, and the income generated by, most bonds and other debt securities held by an underlying fund may be affected by changing interest rates and by changes in the effective maturities and credit ratings of these securities. For example, the prices of debt securities in an underlying fund’s portfolio generally will decline when interest rates rise and increase when interest rates fall.

In addition, falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or refinance a debt security before its stated maturity, which may result in an underlying fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities. Longer maturity debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and may be subject to greater price fluctuations than shorter maturity debt securities.

Bonds and other debt securities are also subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a debt security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest and the security will go into default. Lower quality debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and may be subject to greater price fluctuations than higher quality debt securities. Credit risk is gauged, in part, by the credit ratings of the securities in which the underlying fund invests. However, ratings are only the opinions of the rating agencies issuing them and are not guarantees as to credit quality or an evaluation of market risk.

Certain of the underlying funds invest in lower quality debt securities (rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations designated by the underlying fund's investment adviser, or unrated but determined to be of equivalent quality by the underlying fund's investment adviser), including those of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. Such securities are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.”Lower rated bonds and other lower rated debt securities generally have higher rates of interest and involve greater risk of default or price declines due to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than those of higher quality debt securities. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than the prices of higher quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These risks may be increased with respect to investments in junk bonds. As a result, the value of the underlying fund may be similarly affected.

There may be little trading in the secondary market for particular bonds or other debt securities, which may make them more difficult to value, acquire or sell.

These risks will be more significant as the fund approaches and passes its target date because a greater proportion of the fund’s assets will consist of underlying funds that primarily invest in bonds.

The average maturities of the securities in which each underlying bond fund invests will vary from short term to long term. The underlying bond funds invest in debt securities using a range of quality standards. For more information, please refer to “Information regarding the underlying funds” section of this prospectus.

The prices of securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States or with significant operations outside the United States may decline due to conditions specific to the countries or regions in which the issuer is domiciled or operates, including adverse political, social, economic or market changes in such countries or regions. The securities of issuers domiciled in certain countries outside the United States may be more volatile, less liquid and/or more difficult to value than those of U.S. issuers. Issuers in countries outside the United States may also be subject to different tax and accounting policies and different auditing, reporting, legal and regulatory standards. In addition, the value of investments outside the United States may be reduced by foreign taxes, including foreign withholding taxes on interest and dividends. Issuers in countries outside the United States may also be subject to different government and legal systems that make it difficult for the underlying fund to exercise its rights as a shareholder of the company. Further, there may be increased risks of delayed settlement of securities purchased or sold by an underlying fund. These investments may also be affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. The risks of investing outside the United States may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

The investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds actively manages each underlying fund’s investments. Consequently, an underlying fund is subject to the risk that the methods and analyses employed by the investment adviser in this process may not produce the desired results. This could cause the underlying fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Fund comparative indexes The investment results tables in this prospectus show how the fund’s average annual total returns compare with various broad measures of market results. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index is a market capitalization-weighted index based on the average weighted results of 500 widely held common stocks. This index is unmanaged, and its results include reinvested dividends and/or distributions but do not reflect the effect of sales charges, commissions, account fees, expenses or U.S. federal income taxes. The MSCI All Country World ex USA Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure equity market results in the global developed and emerging markets, excluding the United States. The index consists of more than 40 developed and emerging market country indexes. Results reflect dividends gross of withholding taxes through December 31, 2000, and dividends net of withholding taxes thereafter. This index is unmanaged, and its results include reinvested dividends and/or distributions but do not reflect the effect of sales charges, commissions, account fees, expenses or U.S. federal income taxes.

The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index represents the U.S. investment-grade fixed-rate bond market. This index is unmanaged, and its results include reinvested distributions but do not reflect the effect of sales charges, commissions, account fees, expenses or U.S. federal income taxes.

Fund results All fund results in this prospectus reflect the reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions, if any. Unless otherwise noted, fund results reflect any fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements in effect during the periods presented.

Information regarding the underlying funds

The investment objectives and principal investment strategies of the underlying funds are summarized below and on the following pages. They should not be construed as an offer to purchase the underlying funds. Underlying fund information is as of the most recent underlying fund prospectus prior to the date of this prospectus. For additional and more current information regarding the underlying funds, investors should read the current prospectuses and statements of additional information of the underlying funds.

Each fund will invest in some, but not all, of the underlying funds listed below. Some underlying funds may not be underlying investments for any fund, while others may serve as underlying investments for multiple funds.

The fund relies on the professional judgment of the investment adviser to the fund and to the underlying funds to make decisions about the underlying fund’s portfolio investments. The basic investment philosophy of the investment adviser is to seek to invest in attractively valued companies that, in its opinion, represent good, long-term investment opportunities. The investment adviser believes that an important way to accomplish this is through fundamental analysis, which may include meeting with company executives and employees, suppliers, customers and competitors. Securities may be sold when the investment adviser believes that they no longer represent relatively attractive investment opportunities.

Underlying funds – Growth funds

AMCAP Fund The fund’s investment objective is to provide you with long-term growth of capital.

The fund invests primarily in common stocks of U.S. companies that have solid long-term growth records and the potential for good future growth.

EuroPacific Growth Fund The fund’s investment objective is to provide you with long-term growth of capital.

The fund invests primarily in common stocks of issuers in Europe and the Pacific Basin that the investment adviser believes have the potential for growth. Growth stocks are stocks that the investment adviser believes have the potential for above-average capital appreciation.

Normally the fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of issuers in Europe and the Pacific Basin. A country will be considered part of Europe if it is part of the MSCI European indexes, and part of the Pacific Basin if any of its borders touches the Pacific Ocean. The fund may invest a portion of its assets in common stocks and other securities of companies in countries with emerging or developing economies and/or markets.

The Growth Fund of America The fund’s investment objective is to provide you with growth of capital.

The fund invests primarily in common stocks and seeks to invest in companies that appear to offer superior opportunities for growth of capital. The fund may invest a portion of its assets in securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States.

The New Economy Fund The investment objective of the fund is long-term growth of capital. Current income is a secondary consideration.

The fund seeks to achieve its objectives by investing in securities of companies that can benefit from innovation, exploit new technologies or provide products and services that meet the demands of an evolving global economy.

In pursuing its investment objectives, the fund invests primarily in common stocks that the investment adviser believes have the potential for growth. The fund also invests in common stocks with the potential to pay dividends. The fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in issuers based outside the United States, including those based in emerging and developing countries.

New Perspective Fund The fund’s primary investment objective is to provide you with long-term growth of capital. Future income is a secondary objective.

The fund seeks to take advantage of investment opportunities generated by changes in international trade patterns and economic and political relationships by investing in common stocks of companies located around the world.

In pursuing its primary investment objective, the fund invests primarily in common stocks that the investment adviser believes have the potential for growth. In pursuing its secondary objective, the fund invests in common stocks of companies with the potential to pay dividends in the future.

New World Fund The fund’s investment objective is long-term capital appreciation.

The fund invests primarily in common stocks of companies with significant exposure to countries with developing economies and/or markets. Many of these countries may be referred to as emerging countries or emerging markets. The fund may also invest in debt securities of issuers, including issuers of lower rated bonds (rated Ba1 or below and BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations designated by the fund’s investment adviser or unrated but determined to be of equivalent quality by the fund’s investment adviser), with exposure to these countries. Bonds rated Ba1 or BB+ or below are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.”

Under normal market conditions, the fund will invest at least 35% of its assets in equity and debt securities of issuers primarily based in qualified countries that have developing economies and/or markets.

In determining whether a country is qualified, the fund’s investment adviser will consider such factors as the country’s per capita gross domestic product, the percentage of the country’s economy that is industrialized, market capital as a percentage of gross domestic product, the overall regulatory environment, the presence of government regulation limiting or banning foreign ownership, and restrictions on repatriation of initial capital, dividends, interest and/or capital gains.

The fund may invest in equity securities of any company, regardless of where it is based, if the fund’s investment adviser determines that a significant portion of the company’s assets or revenues (generally 20% or more) is attributable to developing countries. In addition, the fund may invest up to 25% of its assets in nonconvertible debt securities of issuers, including issuers of lower rated bonds and government bonds, that are primarily based in qualified countries or that have a significant portion of their assets or revenues attributable to developing countries. The fund may also, to a limited extent, invest in securities of issuers based in nonqualified developing countries.

SMALLCAP World Fund The fund’s investment objective is to provide you with long-term growth of capital.

Normally the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in growth-oriented common stocks and other equity-type securities (such as preferred stocks, convertible preferred stocks and convertible bonds) of companies with small market capitalizations. The investment adviser currently defines “small market capitalization” companies to be companies with market capitalizations of $4.0 billion or less. The investment adviser has periodically re-evaluated and adjusted this definition and may continue to do so in the future. The fund may continue to hold securities of a portfolio company that subsequently appreciates above the small market capitalization threshold. Because of this, the fund may have less than 80% of its net assets in small market capitalization stocks at any given time. Under normal circumstances, the fund will invest a significant portion of its assets outside the United States, including in emerging markets.

Underlying funds – Growth-and-income funds

American Mutual Fund The fund strives for the balanced accomplishment of three objectives: current income, growth of capital and conservation of principal.

The fund seeks to invest primarily in common stocks of companies that are likely to participate in the growth of the American economy and whose dividends appear to be sustainable. The fund invests primarily in securities of issuers domiciled in the United States and Canada.

The fund’s equity investments are limited to securities of companies that are included on its eligible list. In light of the fund’s investment objectives and policies, securities are added to, or deleted from, the eligible list by the fund’s board of trustees after reviewing and acting upon the recommendations of the fund’s investment adviser. The investment adviser bases its recommendations on a number of factors, such as the fund’s investment objectives and policies, whether a company is considered a leader in its industry and a company’s dividend payment prospects. Although the fund focuses on investments in medium to larger capitalization companies, the fund’s investments are not limited to a particular capitalization size.

The fund may also invest in bonds and other debt securities, including those issued by the U.S. government and by federal agencies and instrumentalities. Debt securities purchased by the fund are rated investment grade or better or determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality.

Capital World Growth and Income Fund The fund’s investment objective is to provide you with long-term growth of capital while providing current income.

The fund invests primarily in common stocks of well-established companies located around the world, many of which have the potential to pay dividends. The fund invests, on a global basis, in common stocks that are denominated in U.S. dollars or other currencies. Under normal market circumstances the fund will invest a significant portion of its assets in securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, including those based in developing countries.

The fund is designed for investors seeking both capital appreciation and income. In pursuing its objective, the fund tends to invest in stocks that the investment adviser believes to be relatively resilient to market declines.

Fundamental Investors The fund’s investment objective is to achieve long-term growth of capital and income.

The fund seeks to invest primarily in common stocks of companies that appear to offer superior opportunities for capital growth and most of which have a history of paying dividends. In addition, the fund may invest significantly in securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States.

International Growth and Income Fund The fund’s investment objective is to provide you with long-term growth of capital while providing current income.

The fund invests primarily in stocks of larger, well-established companies domiciled outside the United States, including in emerging and developing countries, that the investment adviser believes have the potential for growth and/or to pay dividends. The fund currently intends to invest at least 90% of its assets in securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States and whose securities are primarily listed on exchanges outside the United States and cash and cash equivalents. The fund therefore expects to be invested in numerous countries outside the United States.

The fund is designed for investors seeking both capital appreciation and income. In pursuing its objective, the fund focuses on stocks of companies with strong earnings that pay dividends.

The Investment Company of America The fund’s investment objectives are to achieve long-term growth of capital and income.

The fund invests primarily in common stocks, most of which have a history of paying dividends. The fund’s investments are limited to securities of companies that are included on its eligible list. In light of the fund’s investment objectives and policies, securities are added to, or deleted from, the eligible list by the fund’s board of trustees after reviewing and acting upon the recommendations of the fund’s investment adviser. The investment adviser bases its recommendations on a number of factors, such as the fund’s investment objectives and policies, whether a company is considered a leader in its industry and a company’s dividend payment prospects. Although the fund focuses on investments in medium to larger capitalization companies, the fund’s investments are not limited to a particular capitalization size. In the selection of common stocks and other securities for investment, potential for capital appreciation and future dividends are given more weight than current yield.

The fund may invest up to 15% of its assets, at the time of purchase, in securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States.

Washington Mutual Investors Fund The fund’s investment objective is to produce income and to provide an opportunity for growth of principal consistent with sound common stock investing.

The fund invests primarily in common stocks of established companies that are listed on, or meet the financial listing requirements of, the New York Stock Exchange and have a strong record of earnings and dividends. The fund strives to accomplish its objective through fundamental research, careful selection and broad diversification. In the selection of common stocks and other securities for investment, current and potential yield as well as the potential for long-term capital appreciation are considered. The fund seeks to provide an above-average yield in its quarterly income distribution in relation to Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index (a broad, unmanaged index). The fund strives to maintain a fully invested, diversified portfolio, consisting primarily of high-quality common stocks.

The fund has Investment Standards originally based upon criteria established by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for determining eligibility under the Court’s Legal List procedure, which was in effect for many years. The fund has an “Eligible List” — based on the Investment Standards and approved by the fund’s board of trustees — of investments considered appropriate for a prudent investor seeking opportunities for income and growth of principal consistent with common stock investing. The investment adviser is required to select the fund's investments exclusively from the issuers on the Eligible List. The investment adviser monitors the Eligible List and makes recommendations to the board of trustees regarding changes necessary for continued compliance with the fund’s Investment Standards.

Underlying funds – Equity-income and balanced funds

American Balanced Fund The investment objectives of the fund are: (1) conservation of capital, (2) current income and (3) long-term growth of capital and income.

The fund approaches the management of its investments as if they constituted the complete investment program of the prudent investor. The fund invests in a broad range of securities, including common stocks and investment-grade bonds (rated Baa3 or better or BBB- or better by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations designated by the fund’s investment adviser or unrated but determined to be of equivalent quality). The fund also invests in securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S. government and by federal agencies and instrumentalities. In addition, the fund may invest a portion of its assets in common stocks, most of which have a history of paying dividends, bonds and other securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States.

Normally the fund will maintain at least 50% of the value of its assets in common stocks and at least 25% of the value of its assets in debt securities, including money market securities. Although the fund focuses on investments in medium to larger capitalization companies, the fund’s investments are not limited to a particular capitalization size.

Capital Income Builder The fund has two primary investment objectives. It seeks (1) to provide you with a level of current income that exceeds the average yield on U.S. stocks generally and (2) to provide you with a growing stream of income over the years. The fund’s secondary objective is to provide you with growth of capital.

The fund normally will invest at least 90% of its assets in income-producing securities (with at least 50% of its assets in common stocks and other equity securities). The fund invests primarily in a broad range of income-producing securities, including common stocks and bonds. In seeking to provide you with a level of current income that exceeds the average yield on U.S. stocks, the fund generally looks to the average yield on stocks of companies listed on the S&P 500. The fund may also invest significantly in common stocks, bonds and other securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States.

The Income Fund of America The fund’s investment objectives are to provide you with current income while secondarily striving for capital growth.

Normally the fund invests primarily in income-producing securities. These include equity securities, such as dividend-paying common stocks, and debt securities, such as interest-paying bonds.

Generally at least 60% of the fund’s assets will be invested in common stocks and other equity-type securities. However, the composition of the fund’s investments in equity, debt and cash or money market instruments may vary substantially depending on various factors, including market conditions. The fund may also invest up to 25% of its assets in equity securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, including issuers in emerging and developing countries. In addition, the fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in lower quality, higher yielding nonconvertible debt securities (rated Ba1 and BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations designated by the fund’s investment adviser or unrated but determined to be of equivalent quality by the fund’s investment adviser). Such securities are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.” The fund may also invest up to 10% of its assets in debt securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States; however, these securities must be denominated in U.S. dollars.

Underlying funds – Bond funds

American Funds Mortgage Fund The fund’s investment objective is to provide current income and preservation of capital.

Normally at least 80% of the fund’s assets will be invested in mortgage-related securities, including securities collateralized by mortgage loans and contracts for future delivery of such securities (such as to be announced contracts and mortgage dollar rolls). The fund will invest primarily in mortgage-related securities that are sponsored or guaranteed by the U.S. government, such as securities issued by government-sponsored entities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, and nongovernment mortgage-related securities that are rated in the Aaa or AAA rating category (by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations designated by the fund’s investment adviser) or unrated but determined to be of equivalent quality by the fund’s investment adviser. The fund may also invest a portion of its assets in debt issued by federal agencies. Each contract for future delivery is normally of short duration and is replaced by another contract prior to maturity. Each such transaction is reflected as turnover in the fund’s portfolio, resulting in a higher portfolio turnover rate than funds that do not employ this investment strategy.

American High-Income Trust The fund’s primary investment objective is to provide you with a high level of current income. Its secondary investment objective is capital appreciation.

The fund invests primarily in higher yielding and generally lower quality debt securities (rated Ba1 or below or BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations or unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality), including corporate loan obligations. Such securities are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.” The fund may also invest a portion of its assets in securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States.

The fund is designed for investors seeking a high level of current income and who are able to tolerate greater credit risk and price fluctuations than those that exist in funds investing in higher quality debt securities.

The Bond Fund of America The fund’s investment objective is to provide as high a level of current income as is consistent with the preservation of capital.

The fund seeks to maximize your level of current income and preserve your capital by investing primarily in bonds. Normally the fund invests at least 80% of its assets in bonds and other debt securities. The fund invests a majority of its assets in debt securities with quality ratings of A3 or better or A- or better by Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings Organizations designated by the fund’s investment adviser, or in debt securities that are unrated but determined to be of equivalent quality by the fund’s investment adviser, including securities issued and guaranteed by the United States and other governments, securities of corporate issuers and securities backed by mortgages and other assets.

The fund may also invest in debt securities and mortgage-backed securities issued by government-sponsored entities and federal agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The fund invests in debt securities with a wide range of maturities.

The fund’s current practice is not to invest more than 10% of its assets in debt securities rated Ba1 and BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings Organizations designated by the fund’s investment adviser or in debt securities that are unrated but determined by the fund’s investment adviser to be of equivalent quality. Securities rated Ba1 and BB+ or below are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.”

Capital World Bond Fund The fund’s investment objective is to provide you, over the long term, with a high level of total return consistent with prudent investment management. Total return comprises the income generated by the fund and the changes in the market value of the fund’s investments.

Under normal market circumstances, the fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in bonds. The fund invests primarily in debt securities of governmental, supranational and corporate issuers denominated in various currencies, including U.S. dollars. The fund may invest substantially in securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States, including issuers domiciled in developing countries. Normally the fund’s debt obligations will consist substantially of investment-grade bonds (rated Baa3 or better or BBB– or better by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations designated by the fund’s investment adviser or unrated but determined to be of equivalent quality by the fund’s investment adviser). The fund may also invest up to 25% of its assets in lower quality, higher yielding debt securities (rated Ba1 or below and BB+ or below by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations designated by the fund’s investment adviser or unrated but determined to be of equivalent quality by the fund’s investment adviser). Such securities are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.” The total return of the fund will be the result of interest income, changes in the market value of the fund’s investments and changes in the values of other currencies relative to the U.S. dollar.

The fund is nondiversified, which allows it to invest a greater percentage of its assets in any one issuer than would otherwise be the case. However, the fund intends to limit its investments in the securities of any single issuer.

Intermediate Bond Fund of America The fund’s investment objective is to provide you with current income consistent with the maturity and quality standards described in its prospectus and preservation of capital.

The fund maintains a portfolio of bonds, other debt securities and money market instruments having a dollar-weighted average maturity of no less than three years and no greater than five years under normal market conditions. The fund invests primarily in bonds and other debt securities with quality ratings of A– or better or A3 or better (by a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization designated by the fund’s investment adviser) or unrated but determined to be of equivalent quality by the fund’s investment adviser. The fund may invest up to 10% of its assets in bonds and other debt securities rated in the BBB or Baa rating category (by a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization designated by the fund’s investment adviser) or in unrated securities determined to be of equivalent quality by the fund’s investment adviser.

The fund primarily invests in intermediate-term debt securities denominated in U.S. dollars. These include securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S. government, debt securities and mortgage-backed securities issued by government-sponsored entities and federal agencies, and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. In addition, the fund may invest in mortgage-backed securities issued by private issuers and asset-backed securities (securities backed by assets such as auto loans, credit card receivables or other providers of credit).

The fund may also invest in asset-backed securities (securities backed by assets such as auto loans, credit card receivables or other providers of credit).

U.S. Government Securities Fund The fund’s investment objective is to provide a high level of current income consistent with prudent investment risk and preservation of capital.

Normally the fund’s assets will be invested primarily in securities that are guaranteed or sponsored by the U.S. government, including bonds and other debt securities denominated in U.S. dollars. The fund may also invest in mortgage-backed securities issued by federal agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The fund invests in debt securities with a wide range of maturities.

Management and organization

Investment adviser Capital Research and Management Company, an experienced investment management organization founded in 1931, serves as the investment adviser to the funds and other funds, including the underlying American Funds. Capital Research and Management Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Capital Group Companies, Inc. and is located at 333 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, California 90071. Capital Research and Management Company manages the investment portfolio and business affairs of the funds. The total management fee paid by each fund, as a percentage of average net assets, for the previous fiscal year appears in the Annual Fund Operating Expenses table under “Fees and expenses of the fund.” Please see the statement of additional information for further details. A discussion regarding the basis for the approval of the investment advisory and service agreement by the series' board of trustees is contained in the series' semi-annual report to shareholders for the fiscal period ended April 30, 2012.

Capital Research and Management Company manages equity assets through three equity investment divisions and fixed-income assets through its fixed-income division. The three equity investment divisions make investment decisions on an independent basis and include Capital World Investors, Capital Research Global Investors and a third equity investment division.

The equity investment divisions may, in the future, be incorporated as wholly owned subsidiaries of Capital Research and Management Company. In that event, Capital Research and Management Company would continue to be the investment adviser, and day-to-day investment management of equity assets would continue to be carried out through one or more of these subsidiaries. Although not currently contemplated, Capital Research and Management Company could incorporate its fixed-income division in the future and engage it to provide day-to-day investment management of fixed-income assets. Capital Research and Management Company and each of the funds it advises have received an exemptive order from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that allows Capital Research and Management Company to use, upon approval of the fund’s board, its management subsidiaries and affiliates to provide day-to-day investment management services to the fund, including making changes to the management subsidiaries and affiliates providing such services. The fund’s shareholders have approved this arrangement; however, there is no assurance that Capital Research and Management Company will incorporate its investment divisions or exercise any authority under the exemptive order.

Portfolio holdings Portfolio holdings information for each fund in the series is available on the American Funds website at americanfunds.com. A description of the funds’ policies and procedures regarding disclosure of information about their portfolio holdings is available in the statement of additional information.

Multiple Portfolio Counselor System ^® for the underlying funds Capital Research and Management Company uses a system of multiple portfolio counselors in managing mutual fund assets for the underlying funds. Under this approach, the portfolio of each underlying fund is divided into segments managed by individual counselors who decide how their respective segments will be invested. In addition, Capital Research and Management Company’s investment analysts may make investment decisions with respect to a portion of an underlying fund’s portfolio. Investment decisions are subject to the underlying fund’s objective(s), policies and restrictions and the oversight of the appropriate investment-related committees of Capital Research and Management Company and its investment divisions.

Portfolio management for the series Capital Research and Management Company is the investment adviser to the American Funds Target Date Retirement Series. For each fund in the series, the Portfolio Oversight Committee develops the allocation approach and selects the underlying funds.

The table below shows the investment experience and role in management for each of the series’ investment professionals.

Information regarding the investment professionals’ compensation, their ownership of securities in the series and other accounts they manage is in the statement of additional information.

Certain privileges and/or services described on the following pages of this prospectus and in the statement of additional information may not be available to you, depending on your investment dealer or retirement plan recordkeeper. Please see your financial adviser, investment dealer or retirement plan recordkeeper for more information.

Shareholder information

Shareholder services American Funds Service Company, the fund‘s transfer agent, offers a wide range of services that you can use to alter your investment program should your needs or circumstances change. These services may be terminated or modified at any time upon 60 days’ written notice.

A more detailed description of policies and services is included in the series’ statement of additional information and the owner’s guide sent to new American Funds shareholders entitled Welcome . These documents are available by writing to or calling American Funds Service Company.

Unless otherwise noted, references to Class R shares on the following pages refer to Class R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5 and R-6 shares.

Purchase, exchange and sale of shares

The series’ transfer agent, on behalf of the series and American Funds Distributors, ^® the series’ distributor, is required by law to obtain certain personal information from you or any other person(s) acting on your behalf in order to verify your or such person's identity. If you do not provide the information, the transfer agent may not be able to open your account. If the transfer agent is unable to verify your identity or that of any other person(s) authorized to act on your behalf, or believes it has identified potentially criminal activity, the series and American Funds Distributors reserve the right to close your account or take such other action they deem reasonable or required by law.

When purchasing shares, you should designate the fund or funds in which you wish to invest. Subject to the exception below, if no fund is designated, your money will be held uninvested (without liability to the transfer agent for loss of income or appreciation pending receipt of proper instructions) until investment instructions are received, but for no more than three business days. Your investment will be made at the net asset value (plus any applicable sales charge in the case of Class A shares) next determined after investment instructions are received and accepted by the transfer agent. If investment instructions are not received, your money will be invested in Class A shares of American Funds Money Market Fund ^® on the third business day after receipt of your investment.

If the amount of your cash investment is $10,000 or less, no fund is designated, and you made a cash investment (excluding exchanges) within the last 16 months, your money will be invested in the same proportion and in the same fund or funds and in the same class of shares in which your last cash investment was made.

Different procedures may apply to certain employer-sponsored arrangements, including, but not limited to, SEPs and SIMPLE IRAs.

Valuing shares The net asset value of each share class of each fund in the series is calculated based upon the net asset values of the underlying funds in which each fund invests. The prospectuses for the underlying funds explain the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing. The net asset value of each share class of the fund is the value of a single share of that class. The fund calculates the net asset value each day the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading as of approximately 4 p.m. New York time, the normal close of regular trading. Assets are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations. However, the underlying funds have adopted procedures for making “fair value” determinations if market quotations are not readily available or are not considered reliable. For example, if events occur between the close of markets outside the United States and the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange that, in the opinion of the investment adviser, materially affect the value of any of the underlying fund’s securities that principally trade in those international markets, those securities will be valued in accordance with fair value procedures. Use of these procedures is intended to result in more appropriate net asset values. In addition, such use is intended to reduce potential arbitrage opportunities otherwise available to short-term investors.

Because the underlying funds may hold securities that are primarily listed on foreign exchanges that trade on weekends or days when the fund does not price its shares, the values of securities held in the fund may change on days when you will not be able to purchase or redeem fund shares.

Your shares will be purchased at the net asset value (plus any applicable sales charge, in the case of Class A shares) or sold at the net asset value next determined after American Funds Service Company receives your request, provided that your request contains all information and legal documentation necessary to process the transaction. A contingent deferred sales charge may apply at the time you sell certain Class A shares.

Purchase of Class A shares Tax-deferred plans and investors wishing to establish an individual retirement account (IRA) generally may open an account and purchase Class A shares by contacting any financial adviser (who may impose transaction charges in addition to those described in this prospectus) authorized to sell the fund’s shares. You may purchase additional shares in various ways, including through your financial adviser and by mail, telephone, the Internet and bank wire.

Purchase of Class R shares Class R shares are generally available only to retirement plans established under Internal Revenue Code sections 401(a) (including 401(k) plans), 403(b) or 457, and to nonqualified deferred compensation plans and certain voluntary employee benefit association and post-retirement benefit plans. Class R shares also are generally available only to retirement plans where plan level or omnibus accounts are held on the books of the fund’s adviser. Class R-5 and R-6 shares are generally available only to fee-based programs or through retirement plan intermediaries. Class R shares generally are not available to retail nonretirement accounts, traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs), Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, SEPs, SARSEPs, and SIMPLE IRAs.

Purchases by employer-sponsored retirement plans Eligible retirement plans generally may open an account and purchase Class A or R shares by contacting any investment dealer (who may impose transaction charges in addition to those described in this prospectus) authorized to sell these classes of the fund’s shares. Some or all R share classes may not be available through certain investment dealers. Additional shares may be purchased through a plan’s administrator or recordkeeper.

Class A shares are generally not available for retirement plans using the PlanPremier ^® or Recordkeeper Direct ^® recordkeeping programs.

Employer-sponsored retirement plans that are eligible to purchase Class R shares may instead purchase Class A shares and pay the applicable Class A sales charge, provided that their recordkeepers can properly apply a sales charge on plan investments. These plans are not eligible to make initial purchases of $1 million or more in Class A shares and thereby invest in Class A shares without a sales charge, nor are they eligible to establish a statement of intention that qualifies them to purchase Class A shares without a sales charge. More information about statements of intention can be found under “Sales charge reductions and waivers” in this prospectus. Plans investing in Class A shares with a sales charge may purchase additional Class A shares in accordance with the sales charge table in this prospectus.

Employer-sponsored retirement plans that invested in Class A shares without any sales charge before April 1, 2004, and that continue to meet the eligibility requirements in effect as of that date for purchasing Class A shares at net asset value, may continue to purchase Class A shares without any initial or contingent deferred sales charge.

A 403(b) plan may not invest in Class A shares unless it was invested in Class A shares before January 1, 2009.

Purchase minimums and maximums Purchase minimums described in this prospectus may be waived in certain cases. In addition, each fund reserves the right to redeem the shares of any shareholder for their then current net asset value per share if the shareholder’s aggregate investment in the fund falls below the fund’s minimum initial investment amount. See the statement of additional information for details.

For accounts established with an automatic investment plan, the initial purchase minimum of $250 may be waived if the purchases (including purchases through exchanges from another fund) made under the plan are sufficient to reach $250 within five months of account establishment.

Exchange Generally, you may exchange your shares for shares of the same class of other funds in the series or other American Funds without a sales charge. Exchanges of shares from American Funds Money Market Fund initially purchased without a sales charge generally will be subject to the appropriate sales charge.

See “Transactions by telephone, fax or the Internet” under the section “How to sell shares” in this prospectus for information regarding electronic exchanges.

Please see the statement of additional information for details and limitations on moving investments in certain share classes to different share classes and on moving investments held in certain accounts to different accounts.

How to sell shares

You may sell (redeem) shares in any of the following ways:

Employer-sponsored retirement plans

Shares held in eligible retirement plans may be sold through the plan’s administrator or recordkeeper.

Through your dealer or financial adviser (certain charges may apply)

• Shares held for you in your dealer’s name must be sold through the dealer.

Writing to American Funds Service Company

• Requests must be signed by the registered shareholder(s).

• A signature guarantee is required if the redemption is:

— more than $125,000;

— made payable to someone other than the registered shareholder(s); or

— sent to an address other than the address of record or to an address of record that has been changed within the last 10 days.

• American Funds Service Company reserves the right to require signature guarantee(s) on any redemption.

Telephoning or faxing American Funds Service Company or using the Internet

If you recently purchased shares and subsequently request a redemption of those shares, you will receive proceeds from the redemption once a sufficient period of time has passed to reasonably ensure that checks or drafts (including certified or cashier’s checks) for the shares purchased have cleared (normally 10 business days).

Although payment of redemptions normally will be in cash, the series’ declaration of trust permits payment of the redemption price wholly or partly with portfolio securities or other fund assets under conditions and circumstances determined by the series’ board of trustees.

Transactions by telephone, fax or the Internet Generally, IRA and other individual type retirement account shareholders are automatically eligible to redeem or exchange shares by telephone, fax or the Internet, unless you notify us in writing that you do not want any or all of these services. You may reinstate these services at any time.

Unless you decide not to have telephone, fax or Internet services on your account(s), you agree to hold the series, American Funds Service Company, any of its affiliates or mutual funds managed by such affiliates, and each of their respective directors, trustees, officers, employees and agents harmless from any losses, expenses, costs or liabilities (including attorney fees) that may be incurred in connection with the exercise of these privileges, provided that American Funds Service Company employs reasonable procedures to confirm that the instructions received from any person with appropriate account information are genuine. If reasonable procedures are not employed, American Funds Service Company and/or the series may be liable for losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions.

Frequent trading of fund shares The series and American Funds Distributors reserve the right to reject any purchase order for any reason. The funds in the series are not designed to serve as vehicles for frequent trading. Frequent trading of fund shares may lead to increased costs to one or more of the funds and less efficient management of one or more funds’ portfolios, potentially resulting in dilution of the value of the shares held by long-term shareholders. Accordingly, purchases, including those that are part of exchange activity that the series or American Funds Distributors has determined could involve actual or potential harm to one or more of the funds, may be rejected.

The series’ board determined not to adopt the purchase blocking policy currently employed by the other American Funds. The board made this decision because the nature of the funds does not lend itself to abusive market timing activities. However, American Funds Service Company will monitor for frequent trading in the funds’ shares, and all transactions in fund shares are subject to the right of the series, American Funds Distributors and American Funds Service Company to restrict potentially abusive trading. See the statement of additional information for more information about how American Funds Service Company may address other potentially abusive trading activity in the American Funds.

Distributions and taxes

Dividends and distributions The fund intends to distribute dividends, usually in December.

Capital gains, if any, are usually distributed in December. When a dividend or a capital gain is distributed, the net asset value per share is reduced by the amount of the payment.

All dividends and capital gain distributions paid to shareholders will be automatically reinvested.

Taxes on dividends and distributions Dividends and capital gains distributed by each fund to tax-deferred retirement plan accounts and IRAs are not currently taxable.

Taxes on transactions Exchanges within tax-favored retirement plan accounts and IRAs will not result in a capital gain or loss for federal or state income tax purposes. With limited exceptions, distributions from a retirement plan account are taxable as ordinary income.

Please see your tax adviser for more information.

Sales charges

Class A shares The initial sales charge you pay each time you buy Class A shares differs depending upon the fund in which you invest and the amount you invest and may be reduced or eliminated for larger purchases as indicated below. The “offering price,” the price you pay to buy shares, includes any applicable sales charge, which will be deducted directly from your investment. Shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends or capital gain distributions are not subject to an initial sales charge.

The sales charge, expressed as a percentage of the offering price or the net amount invested, may be higher or lower than the percentages described in the table above due to rounding. This is because the dollar amount of the sales charge is determined by subtracting the net asset value of the shares purchased from the offering price, which is calculated to two decimal places using standard rounding criteria. The impact of rounding will vary with the size of the investment and the net asset value of the shares. Similarly, any contingent deferred sales charge paid by IRA and individual type retirement account shareholders on investments in Class A shares may be higher or lower than the 1% charge described below due to rounding.

Except as provided below, IRA and other individual type retirement account investments in Class A shares of $1 million or more may be subject to a 1% contingent deferred sales charge if the shares are sold within one year of purchase. The contingent deferred sales charge is based on the original purchase cost or the current market value of the shares being sold, whichever is less.

Class A share purchases not subject to sales charges The following investments are not subject to any initial or contingent deferred sales charge if American Funds Service Company is properly notified of the nature of the investment:

The distributor may pay dealers a commission of up to 1% on investments made in Class A shares with no initial sales charge. The fund may reimburse the distributor for these payments through its plans of distribution (see “Plans of distribution” in this prospectus).

Certain other investors may qualify to purchase shares without a sales charge, such as employees of investment dealers and registered investment advisers authorized to sell American Funds and employees of The Capital Group Companies, Inc. and its affiliates. Please see the statement of additional information for further details.

Class R shares Class R shares are sold without any initial or contingent deferred sales charge. The distributor will pay dealers annually asset-based compensation of up to 1.00% for sales of Class R-1 shares, up to .75% for Class R-2 shares, up to .50% for Class R-3 shares and up to .25% for Class R-4 shares. No dealer compensation is paid from fund assets on sales of Class R-5 or R-6 shares. The fund may reimburse the distributor for these payments through its plans of distribution.

See “Plans of distribution” in this prospectus for ongoing compensation paid to your dealer or financial adviser for all share classes.

Contingent deferred sales charges Shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends or capital gain distributions are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge. In addition, the contingent deferred sales charge may be waived in certain circumstances. See “Contingent deferred sales charge waivers” under the section “Sales charge reductions and waivers” in this prospectus. The contingent deferred sales charge is based on the original purchase cost or the current market value of the shares being sold, whichever is less. For purposes of determining the contingent deferred sales charge, if you sell only some of your shares, shares that are not subject to any contingent deferred sales charge will be sold first, followed by shares that you have owned the longest.

Sales charge reductions and waivers

To receive a reduction in your Class A initial sales charge, you must let your financial adviser or American Funds Service Company know at the time you purchase shares that you qualify for such a reduction. If you do not let your adviser or American Funds Service Company know that you are eligible for a reduction, you may not receive the sales charge discount to which you are otherwise entitled. In order to determine your eligibility to receive a sales charge discount, it may be necessary for you to provide your adviser or American Funds Service Company with information and records (including account statements) of all relevant accounts invested in the American Funds.

In addition to the information in this prospectus, you may obtain more information about share classes, sales charges and sales charge reductions and waivers through a link on the home page of the American Funds website at americanfunds.com, from the statement of additional information or from your financial adviser.

Reducing your Class A initial sales charge Consistent with the policies described in this prospectus, two or more retirement plans of an employer or employer’s affiliates may combine all of their American Funds investments to reduce their Class A sales charge. IRA and other individual-type retirement account shareholders, as well as their “immediate family” (their spouse — or equivalent if recognized under local law — and their children under the age of 21) may combine all of their American Funds investments to reduce Class A sales charges. Certain investments in the American Funds Target Date Retirement Series, American Funds Portfolio Series ^SM and American Funds College Target Date Series ^SM may also be combined for this purpose. Please see the applicable series’ prospectus for further information. However, for this purpose, investments representing direct purchases of American Funds Money Market Fund are excluded. Following are different ways that you may qualify for a reduced Class A sales charge:

Aggregating accounts To receive a reduced Class A sales charge, investments made by IRA and other individual type retirement account shareholders and their immediate family (see above) may be aggregated if made for their own account(s) and/or certain other accounts, such as:

Investments made through employer-sponsored retirement plan accounts will not be aggregated with individual type accounts.

Concurrent purchases Simultaneous purchases (including, upon your request, purchases for gifts) of any class of shares of two or more American Funds (excluding American Funds Money Market Fund) may be combined to qualify for a reduced Class A sales charge. IRA and other individual type retirement account shareholders may also combine purchases for gifts upon request.

Rights of accumulation You may take into account your accumulated holdings in all share classes of the American Funds (excluding American Funds Money Market Fund) to determine the initial sales charge you pay on each purchase of Class A shares. Subject to your investment dealer’s or recordkeeper’ capabilities, your accumulated holdings will be calculated as the higher of (a) the current value of your existing holdings (as of the day prior to your additional American Funds investment) or (b) the amount you invested (including reinvested dividends and capital gains, but excluding capital appreciation) less any withdrawals. Please see the statement of additional information for further details. You should retain any records necessary to substantiate the historical amounts you have invested.

Upon their request, IRA and other individual-type retirement account shareholders who make a gift of shares may purchase the shares at the sales charge discount allowed under rights of accumulation of all of your American Funds accounts.

Statement of intention You may reduce your Class A sales charge by establishing a statement of intention. A statement of intention allows you to combine all purchases of all share classes of the American Funds (excluding American Funds Money Market Fund) that you intend to make over a 13-month period to determine the applicable sales charge; however, purchases made under a right of reinvestment, appreciation of your holdings, and reinvested dividends and capital gains do not count as purchases made during the statement period. Your accumulated holdings (as described and calculated under “Rights of accumulation” above) eligible to be aggregated as of the day immediately before the start of the statement period may be credited toward satisfying the statement. A portion of your account may be held in escrow to cover additional Class A sales charges that may be due if your total purchases over the statement period do not qualify you for the applicable sales charge reduction. Employer-sponsored retirement plans may be restricted from establishing statements of intention. See the discussion regarding employer-sponsored retirement plans under “Purchase, exchange and sale of shares” in this prospectus for more information.

Right of reinvestment If you notify American Funds Service Company, you may reinvest proceeds from a redemption, dividend payment or capital gain distribution without a sales charge in the same fund or other American Funds, provided that the reinvestment occurs within 90 days after the date of the redemption, dividend payment or distribution and is made into the same account from which you redeemed the shares or received the dividend payment or distribution. If the account has been closed, you may reinvest without a sales charge if the new receiving account has the same registration as the closed account and the reinvestment is made within 90 days after the date of redemption, dividend payment or distribution.

Proceeds and all dividend payments and capital gain distributions will be reinvested in the same share class from which the original redemption, dividend payment or distribution was made. Any contingent deferred sales charge on Class A shares will be credited to your account. Redemption proceeds of Class A shares representing direct purchases in American Funds Money Market Fund that are reinvested in other American Funds will be subject to a sales charge.

Proceeds will be reinvested at the next calculated net asset value after your request is received by American Funds Service Company, provided that your request contains all information and legal documentation necessary to process the transaction. For purposes of this “right of reinvestment policy,” automatic transactions (including, for example, automatic purchases, withdrawals and payroll deductions) and ongoing retirement plan contributions are not eligible for investment without a sales charge. This paragraph does not apply to certain rollover investments described under “Rollovers from retirement plans to IRAs” in this prospectus.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers The contingent deferred sales charge on Class A shares in the case of IRA and other individual type retirement account investments may be waived in the following cases:

To have your Class A contingent deferred sales charge waived, you must inform your adviser or American Funds Service Company at the time you redeem shares that you qualify for such a waiver.

Rollovers from retirement plans to IRAs

Assets from retirement plans may be invested in Class A shares through an IRA rollover, subject to the other provisions of this prospectus. Rollovers invested in Class A shares from retirement plans will be subject to applicable sales charges. The following rollovers to Class A shares will be made without a sales charge:

—    the assets being rolled over were invested in American Funds at the time of distribution; and

—    the rolled over assets are contributed to an American Funds IRA with Capital Bank and Trust Company as custodian.

IRA rollover assets that roll over without a sales charge as described above will not be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, and investment dealers will be compensated solely with an annual service fee that begins to accrue immediately. IRA rollover assets invested in Class A shares that are not attributable to American Funds investments, as well as future contributions to the IRA, will be subject to sales charges and the terms and conditions generally applicable to Class A share investments as described in this prospectus and in the statement of additional information.

Plans of distribution

Each fund has plans of distribution, or “12b-1 plans,” for certain share classes under which it may finance activities intended primarily to sell shares, provided that the categories of expenses are approved in advance by the series’ board of trustees. The plans provide for payments, based on annualized percentages of average daily net assets, of:

For all share classes indicated above, up to .25% may be used to pay service fees to qualified dealers for providing certain shareholder services. The amount remaining for each share class, if any, may be used for distribution expenses.

The 12b-1 fees paid by each applicable share class of the fund, as a percentage of average net assets for the fiscal year, are indicated in the Annual Fund Operating Expenses table under “Fees and expenses of the fund” in this prospectus. Since these fees are paid out of the fund’s assets or income on an ongoing basis, over time they may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges or service fees and reduce the return on your investment.

Other compensation to dealers

American Funds Distributors, at its expense, provides additional compensation to investment dealers. These payments may be made, at the discretion of American Funds Distributors, to the top 100 dealers (or their affiliates) that have sold shares of the American Funds. The level of payments made to a qualifying firm in any given year will vary and in no case will exceed the sum of (a) .10% of the previous year’s American Funds sales by that dealer and (b) .02% of American Funds assets attributable to that dealer. For calendar year 2011, aggregate payments made by American Funds Distributors to dealers were less than .02% of the average assets of the American Funds. Aggregate payments may also change from year to year. A number of factors will be considered in determining payments, including the qualifying dealer’s sales, assets and redemption rates, and the quality of the dealer’s relationship with American Funds Distributors. American Funds Distributors makes these payments to help defray the costs incurred by qualifying dealers in connection with efforts to educate financial advisers about the American Funds so that they can make recommendations and provide services that are suitable and meet shareholder needs. American Funds Distributors will, on an annual basis, determine the advisability of continuing these payments. American Funds Distributors may also pay expenses associated with meetings conducted by selling dealers, advisory platform providers and other intermediaries to facilitate educating financial advisers and shareholders about the American Funds. If investment advisers, distributors or other affiliates of mutual funds pay additional compensation or other incentives in differing amounts, dealer firms and their advisers may have financial incentives for recommending a particular mutual fund over other mutual funds or investments. You should consult with your financial adviser and review carefully any disclosure by your financial adviser’s firm as to compensation received.

Fund expenses

To the extent a fund invests in underlying American Funds, it will invest in Class R-6 shares of the underlying funds. Accordingly, fees and expenses of the underlying funds reflect current expenses of the Class R-6 shares of the underlying funds.

In periods of market volatility, assets of the funds may decline significantly, causing total annual fund operating expenses (as a percentage of the value of your investment) to become higher than the numbers shown in the Annual Fund Operating Expenses table in this prospectus.

The “Other expenses” items in the Annual Fund Operating Expenses tables in this prospectus include custodial, legal, transfer agent and subtransfer agent/recordkeeping payments and various other expenses. Subtransfer agent/recordkeeping payments may be made to the series’ investment adviser, affiliates of the adviser and unaffiliated third parties for providing recordkeeping and other administrative services to retirement plans invested in the fund in lieu of the transfer agent providing such services. The amount paid for subtransfer agent/recordkeeping services will vary depending on the share class selected and the entity receiving the payments. The table below shows the maximum payments to entities providing services to retirement plans.

¹ Payment with respect to Recordkeeper Direct program.

² Payment with respect to PlanPremier program.

Financial highlights

The Financial Highlights table is intended to help you understand each fund’s results. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of a particular class. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in each fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and capital gain distributions). Where indicated, figures in the table reflect the impact, if any, of certain reimbursements/waivers from Capital Research and Management Company. For more information about these reimbursements/waivers, see footnotes to the Annual Fund Operating Expenses table under “Fees and expenses of the funds” in this prospectus and the series’ annual report. The information in the Financial Highlights table has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, whose current report, along with the series’ financial statements, is included in the statement of additional information, which is available upon request.