The LifePath Paycheck™ solution is here

PRESS RELEASE

BlackRock activates retirement solution offering a paycheck for life

CHAIRMAN'S LETTER

Time to rethink retirement - and that includes retirement income

Now available in defined contribution plans

Workers are looking for help answering the question, how much of my nest egg can I spend in retirement… and not run out?

We’ve launched a solution. LifePath Paycheck™ combines the simplicity of a target date strategy with the increased certainty of an annuity from insurers selected by BlackRock to offer participants a paycheck for life.

Why retirement income?

#1

Because we’re living longer – and that should be a good thing. In the 20th century, the average American lifespan grew by about 30 years.¹

Life expectancy has grown from 47 in 1900 to 79 in 2023.

There are two cakes. One is labelled 47 years with a single flickering candle. It represents the life expectancy in 1900. The other cake is labelled 79 years with three flickering candles. It represents the life expectancy in 2023. Confetti is exploding behind the 2023 cake.
#2

Because outliving savings is a top financial concern - and employers want to help.

60% of workplace savers worry they will outlive their retirement savings;2 and 99% of plan sponsors feel responsible to help fix that.3

There are 2 people. One is labelled 60% savers worry. It is 60% filled yellow and has two smaller people behind representing employees. This represents 60% of workplace savers worry they will outlive their retirement savings. The other person is labelled 99% employers feel responsible. It is wearing a tie and is 99% filled yellow. This represents 99% of employers feel responsible to help fix that.
#3

Because having guaranteed retirement income can help retirees’ wallets – and minds.

People can get a 22% average increase in potential retirement spending from a target date strategy with an embedded income solution;4 and 93% of workplace savers say having more certainty around retirement income would help their mental health.5

For illustrative purposes only.

There is a piggy bank and a heart. The piggy bank is labelled 22% savings increase. It has a coin falling in and is 22% filled pink. It represents that people can get a 22% savings increase in potential retirement spending from a target date strategy. The heart is labelled 93% well-being boost. The heart is 93% filled pink. It represents that 93% of workplace savers say having more certainty around retirement income would help their mental health.
OUR PUBLICATIONS

Insights for better outcomes

Women live longer. Can they afford it?
A look at gender, life expectancy, and the need for retirement income.

Living longer should be a good thing. And it can be with the right tools – for both getting to and through retirement. Women may face different challenges to retirement saving, but there are levers employers can pull to ensure women feel secure in knowing that when work stops, financial security doesn’t have to.

Six reasons to consider retirement income
What the research reveals for workplace retirement savers

People are living longer. But for the most part, we’re not choosing to put off retirement. From financial security to mental fitness, here are 6 ways guaranteed lifetime income can benefit workers as they enter that next chapter.

Our principles of decumulation
A framework for spending down assets in retirement

Financial advice often focuses on boosting personal savings rates and maximizing return on investment during a worker’s accumulation years. Equally important, however, is the decumulation process, when people spend those savings in the form of income.

How to optimize retirement income
Joint research with the Bipartisan Policy Center

Leveraging BlackRock’s proprietary lifecycle model, our analysis demonstrates how taking a holistic approach to retirement income benefits savers. In particular, a few steps can potentially generate more retirement income and decrease risk.

Life doesn’t retire™

The MyLifePath™ platform is a digital experience that is accessible through an eligible retirement plan’s recordkeeper. MyLifePath provides information about LifePath Paycheck and provides a means of facilitating an eligible participant’s annuity purchase option with the selected insurers.
mlp tool

Lights, camera, income…

Check out our latest videos on retirement income – and the impact it can have.

BlackRock Bottom Line – Video Script for Anne Ackerley

Title: From saving to spending: navigating a top retirement concern

We know the top financial fear around retirement is outliving savings. Yet most retirees still have 80% of their pre-retirement savings two decades into retirement.* It’s a paradox that reveals the major challenge of spending down your nest egg. To solve it, we need to explore new solutions.

Graphic: - Source: BlackRock/Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), December 2020.

BlackRock Bottom Line open

When most people think about “planning for retirement,” it’s usually “savings” that first comes to mind.

And that makes sense because, from the time we start working, it’s a mindset that’s reinforced for decades until, one day, we retire.And then it’s time to spend. But, it turns out, that’s easier said than done.

59% of investors say it’s difficult to know how their retirement savings will translate into monthly retirement income.

[Graphic: 59% of investors say it’s difficult to know how their retirement savings will translate into monthly retirement income, BlackRock 2021 DC Pulse]

There are lots of reasons for this, but here are the big ones:

People don’t know how long they are going to live, they don’t know what their expenses are going to be and they don’t know what the market will do.

Yet the burden of figuring this out has increasingly fallen on the individual. Consider the shift from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans like 401(k)s.

Today, the vast majority of Americans cannot fall back on a pension from their employer. And, while there is Social Security, that wasn’t meant to be the primary source of retirement income.

This is a really hard math problem to solve.

But there is good news. The industry is coming together to address these needs and innovate new solutions to provide retirees with secure income options and greater certainty around their future.

Forward-thinking employers who are moving in this direction can benefit from a more financially secure workforce.

The bottom line is, secure retirement income solutions can help create better retirements. With them, more and more people can feel confident and experience greater well-being across their entire journey.

BlackRock Bottom Line – Video Script for Anne Ackerley

Title: From saving to spending: navigating a top retirement concern

We know the top financial fear around retirement is outliving savings. Yet most retirees still have 80% of their pre-retirement savings two decades into retirement.* It’s a paradox that reveals the major challenge of spending down your nest egg. To solve it, we need to explore new solutions.

Graphic: - Source: BlackRock/Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), December 2020.

BlackRock Bottom Line open

When most people think about “planning for retirement,” it’s usually “savings” that first comes to mind.

And that makes sense because, from the time we start working, it’s a mindset that’s reinforced for decades until, one day, we retire.And then it’s time to spend. But, it turns out, that’s easier said than done.

59% of investors say it’s difficult to know how their retirement savings will translate into monthly retirement income.

[Graphic: 59% of investors say it’s difficult to know how their retirement savings will translate into monthly retirement income, BlackRock 2021 DC Pulse]

There are lots of reasons for this, but here are the big ones:

People don’t know how long they are going to live, they don’t know what their expenses are going to be and they don’t know what the market will do.

Yet the burden of figuring this out has increasingly fallen on the individual. Consider the shift from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans like 401(k)s.

Today, the vast majority of Americans cannot fall back on a pension from their employer. And, while there is Social Security, that wasn’t meant to be the primary source of retirement income.

This is a really hard math problem to solve.

But there is good news. The industry is coming together to address these needs and innovate new solutions to provide retirees with secure income options and greater certainty around their future.

Forward-thinking employers who are moving in this direction can benefit from a more financially secure workforce.

The bottom line is, secure retirement income solutions can help create better retirements. With them, more and more people can feel confident and experience greater well-being across their entire journey.

Simply better prepared. For life.™

Introducing LifePath Paycheck™: the next generation of target date solutions that include an option to purchase a lifetime income stream from insurers selected by BlackRock. In other words, participants can get a paycheck for life.

Here’s how it works:

Early Career

LifePath Paycheck is focused on growth when participants are young and is primarily invested in equity and equity-like assets.

This breaks down as 99% Equity and 1% Fixed Income.

Later Career

Starting at age 55, LifePath Paycheck begins allocating to a new asset class called “lifetime income,” which grows over time.6

This breaks down as 52% Equity, 9% Inflation, 24% Fixed Income and 15% Lifetime Income.6

Retirement

Beginning at age 59 ½, participants can:

Get a paycheck for life by opting to purchase a lifetime income stream for retirement – payable by insurers selected by BlackRock.

The remaining retirement plan savings can either be invested in a target date solution designed to complement the lifetime income stream,7 in another retirement plan investment option, or redeemed for cash.

This breaks down as 37% Equity, 9% Inflation, 24% Fixed Income and 30% Lifetime Income.

For illustrative purposes only and subject to change.

Here’s what your plan participants get:

Choice Arrow Icon
Choice
Offers participants daily liquidity, flexibility to purchase a lifetime income stream and the ability to customize lifetime income benefits.
Maintenance Tools Icon
Convenience
A familiar target date strategy that addresses the complexity of buying a traditional annuity in a simple way.
Education Cap Icon
Cost-efficiency
No commissions, loads, distribution fees or surrender charges.

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