Nearly two-thirds of American workers fear
outliving their retirement savings1
LifePath Paycheck can help alleviate that
concern for half a million people with more to follow
Solution is part of BlackRock’s efforts to help
people manage spending throughout increasingly longer
retirements
BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) announced today that its retirement
income solution, LifePath Paycheck™, is now available in defined
contribution plans.
The LifePath Paycheck solution takes a new approach to
retirement income by providing access to guaranteed income through
a target date fund, an investment strategy that automatically
adjusts to a targeted retirement year. Plan participants will have
the option to access the guaranteed income as early as age 59 ½ by
purchasing annuity contracts issued by Equitable (NYSE: EQH)
and Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ: BHF).
To help educate plan participants, BlackRock developed
MyLifePath™, a digital experience that shows how today's
contributions can translate into income in retirement.
Avangrid (NYSE: AGR), Adventist HealthCare Retirement
Plans, and Tennessee Valley Authority Retirement System will be
among the first to implement the strategy as the default investment
option for their employees’ defined contribution plan, with
additional plan sponsors to follow in the coming months. To date,
14 plan sponsors, with plans totaling $27 billion in target date
assets, are planning to make LifePath Paycheck available to 500,000
employees, with several other large plan sponsors expressing
interest.
Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock, said, “We
believe LifePath Paycheck will one day be the default retirement
investment strategy, providing access to a predictable,
paycheck-like income stream that can help improve the quality of
life for millions of Americans in retirement.”
Anne Ackerley, Head of Retirement at BlackRock, added, “A
top concern among American workers is the fear of running out of
money during retirement. And yet the industry has focused on
helping people understand they need to save – but not how to manage
spending in retirement, even as companies have shifted from defined
benefit to defined contribution plans. With this solution, we’re
rethinking retirement. And part of that was working across the
industry to build something new.”
Access to an option for guaranteed income could help alleviate
the stress many Americans currently face about the uncertainty of
outliving their savings. According to early findings from
BlackRock’s ninth annual Read on Retirement™ survey,1 nearly
two-thirds (60%) of those surveyed2 worry they’ll outlive their
retirement savings and 99% say having guaranteed retirement income
would help ease that concern. Beyond financial benefits, 93% 1 say
having more certainty around retirement income would help their
mental health today.
Retirees agree – 94% surveyed also believe employers should
provide their employees with a retirement income solution through
their workplace plan. Additionally, the survey found that 99% of
plan sponsors feel responsible for helping plan participants
generate and/or manage their income in retirement.
Paul Visconti, Senior Director of Total Health and Retirement
Programs at Avangrid, a sustainable energy company that has
implemented LifePath Paycheck, said, “LifePath Paycheck is a game
changer in our effort to attract, retain, and empower talent. By
taking some of the guesswork out of financial planning, we’re
enabling our employees to focus on what they do best – accelerating
transformation for our customers and communities by pioneering a
brighter clean energy future.”
Rob Roy, Member of the Investment Committee for Adventist
HealthCare Retirement Plans, a multiple-employer retirement
program for hundreds of hospitals, said, “After a lifetime of hard
work caring for others, we believe our employees deserve to feel
more financially secure in retirement. As we evaluated the
landscape of different lifetime retirement income offerings,
LifePath Paycheck decisively led the pack in how it takes the
complexity out of a process that has confused employers and
individuals, alike, for decades.”
Nick Nefouse, CFA, Global Head of LifePath at BlackRock,
noted, “BlackRock pioneered the first target date fund over thirty
years ago – and LifePath Paycheck represents the next phase of
BlackRock’s leadership in retirement. We continue to develop
innovative solutions for Americans that are affordable, easy to
use, and can provide more economic security to retirees.”
Convening the Industry
BlackRock has worked closely with recordkeepers to facilitate
the implementation of LifePath Paycheck for their clients.
Fidelity Investments and Bank of America (NYSE:
BAC) are among the first to enable access to the solution on
their record keeping platforms. Other recordkeepers, including
Voya Financial, are also planning to make it available.
In addition, BlackRock worked closely with insurers Equitable
and Brighthouse Financial on providing the LifePath Paycheck
solution’s income stream option.
“Equitable’s mission is to help our clients secure their
financial well-being so they can pursue long and fulfilling lives,”
said Aaron Sarfatti, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of
Institutional Businesses and New Ventures at Equitable. “The
addition of secure income through defined contribution plans
presents a profound opportunity to expand on the delivery of our
mission. We feel privileged to support BlackRock in its LifePath
Paycheck solution as it helps the record number of Americans
reaching traditional retirement age reduce the risk of outliving
their savings.”
Eric Steigerwalt, President and CEO, Brighthouse
Financial, said, “Brighthouse Financial is excited to play a
role in helping U.S. workers who are seeking ways to access
lifetime retirement income. The launch of LifePath Paycheck is an
important step toward addressing the retirement challenges that
America faces, and we are pleased to work with BlackRock on this
solution.”
About BlackRock
BlackRock’s purpose is to help more and more people experience
financial well-being. As a fiduciary to our clients and a leading
provider of financial technology, we help millions of people build
savings that serve them throughout their lives by making investing
easier and more affordable. For additional information on
BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/corporate
Disclosures
This material is intended for information purposes only, and
does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation or an offer
or solicitation to purchase or sell any securities, funds or
strategies to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer,
solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the
securities laws of such jurisdiction. The opinions expressed are
subject to change without notice. Reliance upon information in this
material is at the sole discretion of the reader. Investing
involves risks.
©2024 BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
BLACKROCK, LIFEPATH PAYCHECK and MYLIFEPATH are trademarks of
BlackRock, Inc., or its affiliates. All other trademarks are those
of their respective owners.
Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (Equitable Financial)
(NY, NY) is the issuer of a single premium immediate annuity (SPIA)
for the lifetime income asset described herein. PlanConnect, LLC is
a separate but affiliated company of Equitable Financial. Equitable
Financial is not affiliated with BlackRock or its affiliates. All
guarantees provided within annuity products are based on the
claims-paying ability of the issuing life insurance company.
Brighthouse Financial fixed individual retirement annuities are
issued by Brighthouse Life Insurance Company, Charlotte, NC 28277,
and, in New York only, by Brighthouse Life Insurance Company of NY,
New York, NY 10017. All guarantees are subject to the financial
strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance
company. Brighthouse Financial® and its design are registered
trademarks of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. and/or its
affiliates.
__________________________ 1 The 2024 BlackRock Read on
Retirement™ survey provides insights from a research study of over
450 large defined contribution plan sponsors, 300 retirement plan
advisors, 1,300 workplace retirement plan savers, 1,300 independent
savers and 300 retired workplace savers in the United States. The
survey is executed by Escalent, an independent research company.
All respondents were interviewed using an online survey conducted
between January 29 and March 7, 2024.
2 Out of 1,300 workplace retirement plan savers surveyed.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240424677951/en/
Media Contacts Thomasin
Bentley thomasin.bentley@blackrock.com +1 (646) 231-1769
Christa Zipf christa.zipf@blackrock.com +1 (646)
231-0013
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024