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J.P. Morgan Asset Management Releases the 2025 Retirement Guide

On March 4, 2025, J.P. Morgan Asset Management launched the 13th edition of its comprehensive annual Guide to Retirement. This year’s edition emphasizes the evolving dynamics of retirement planning, ensuring that readers are equipped with essential knowledge to navigate the complexities ahead.

A New Perspective on Retirement Planning

With an ever-changing landscape in finance and retirement, the 2025 Guide takes a fresh look at the pivotal topics that will influence planning for retirement. Among the highlighted themes are Social Security, guaranteed income streams, and the significance of long-term investment strategies. J.P. Morgan's use of anonymized household data, combined with proprietary research, aims to furnish advisors, consultants, and participants in defined contribution plans with actionable insights.

Michael Conrath, the Chief Retirement Strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, articulated the essence of the guide: "Retirement means different things to different people, and planning for it involves a multitude of decisions which can feel daunting or overwhelming." Conrath believes that despite the apparent challenges, achieving a secure retirement is attainable, particularly with the right tools and knowledge.

Key Themes to Consider

The 2025 Guide to Retirement outlines four critical themes for retirement planning:

1. Don't Aim for Average: Calculate Your Savings Goal
Planning for retirement requires a realistic assessment of longevity, particularly as life expectancies increase. The guide emphasizes that more than half of healthy non-smoking women are expected to live past age 90. Thus, understanding how much to save becomes vital to maintaining purchasing power throughout retirement.

2. Invest for Long-Term Gains, Not Just Savings
Long-term investment strategies are crucial as emotional responses to market volatility often hinder portfolio performance. Missing out on the best market days can drastically reduce returns; for instance, avoiding just ten of the top days over the last twenty years could have halved a portfolio's annual returns. Therefore, maintaining a diversified investment strategy is recommended.

3. Anticipate Social Security Benefits
Understanding the timing of Social Security claims is essential. Research indicates that delaying benefits until age 70 could enhance benefit checks by up to 24%, whereas claiming early at age 62 results in significantly reduced payouts. The guide provides insights into making informed decisions regarding the timing of these benefits.

4. Establish a Confident Retirement Income Plan
A robust retirement income strategy can reduce anxiety around spending. Households often derive retirement funding from various sources, including investments and guaranteed income like Social Security. Research shows that having a higher proportion of guaranteed income is associated with increased spending confidence among retirees, leading to improved quality of life.

Supporting Tools and Resources

To assist financial advisors and their clients, J.P. Morgan Asset Management offers insightful resources such as the Guide to Retirement, the Guide to the Markets, and ongoing research in collaboration with the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). These tools aim to empower participants in defined contribution plans and enhance retirement planning efforts overall.

The 2025 Guide underscores the evolving nature of retirement planning and aims to elevate understanding among all stakeholders involved. To access the full guide, click here.

About J.P. Morgan Asset Management

With $3.6 trillion in assets under management as of December 31, 2024, J.P. Morgan Asset Management is recognized as a global leader in investment management. The firm serves a diverse range of clients, from institutions to high-net-worth individuals, with exceptional services across various investment classes, including equities, fixed income, and private equity.

For further inquiries and to learn more about their services, please visit www.jpmorgan.com/am.