Ed Murphy, Putnam’s Head of Defined Contribution, partners with the Profit Sharing Council of America to discuss how the 401(k) program will continue to adapt and improve to meet the needs of the American workforce.

Why the 401k Will Prevail — and How

In his keynote address to retirement industry leaders at the recent Pensions & Investments West Coast Defined Contribution Conference, Putnam Investments President and Chief Executive Officer Robert L. Reynolds emphasized the growing need for assured income assets in retirement savers’ portfolios.
As American workers live longer, and as income from traditional sources like pensions and Social [...]

Previously, we saw how the sequence of returns your portfolio experiences after you’ve retired can affect your nest egg.
We reviewed how robust returns early in retirement could help afford a steady stream of income and a substantial legacy. We also saw how disastrous returns early on can cause your portfolio to run out of money [...]

Last week, Putnam CEO Bob Reynolds delivered an important address on a topic many investors neglect to consider: the risks posed by the sequence of returns they’ll see once they retire.
A lucky investor might see positive returns in the years right after retirement. These positive returns can help raise an account’s value enough to afford [...]

Millions of Americans are facing a huge problem: how to create sufficient income in retirement. Putnam CEO Robert L. Reynolds presented a solution at the National Investment Company Service Association’s October conference.
Review his presentation to see how Putnam is making workplace plans less volatile and helping people achieve more successful retirements.
Solving America's Lifetime Income Challenge
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If action is not taken to boost retirement savings — and substantially — a generation from now, millions of people could be short on funds to pay for food, medicine, and housing. Fortunately, the framework for a solution already exists in the form of America’s workplace savings plans.

The Defined Contribution system has been at the center of attention from Congress — and according to Putnam CEO Robert Reynolds, it can be made a much more robust, reliable part of solving America’s retirement challenge.

Robert L. Reynolds, President and Chief Executive Officer, outlined a sweeping retirement reform agenda in Washington, D.C. before an audience of the nation’s 401(k) industry leaders, retirement plan sponsors, and mutual fund executives.

I am sure that many people here and in our industry will have a variety of fresh ideas to improve what I’ve sketched out here today. But let me be very clear. Even if we make all the changes I’ve mentioned, there is much, much more to do in workplace savings. The glass is only half full. More than 75 million of our fellow Americans have no access to any form of workplace savings at all.

Here are just a few elements that should be at the heart of the next great step forward in retirement legislation: “The Workplace Savings and Lifetime Income Act of 20-something…” Hopefully, it will happen in 2010 or maybe 2011 — the sooner the better!