Personalised and flexible: Crafting a retirement plan that transforms with your needs

Retirement planning isn’t a one-size-fits-all journey. For the sandwich generation, it’s a balancing act – caring for ageing parents while raising children. Young professionals who are just starting out may struggle to save on entry-level salaries. Even high-income earners can feel stretched juggling various responsibilities and lifestyle expenses.

With competing priorities, it’s easy to push retirement planning to the back burner. But delaying this crucial step can lead to more stress and greater financial strain down the road, making it harder to maintain one’s lifestyle and support loved ones.

Says Ms Koh Hui-Jian, Singapore chief executive officer at Manulife Investments: “Retirement needs have evolved significantly over the years. With increased life expectancies, Singaporeans need to plan effectively for a potentially lengthy retirement. At the same time, changing family dynamics and rising costs of living mean greater financial self-reliance and empowerment is more essential than ever.”

Ms Koh emphasises that keeping retirement planning on the back burner will only make it more challenging later on. Whether it’s juggling family commitments or building a career, having defined goals and taking small steps today can make a big difference in the years ahead.

Despite recognising the importance of early planning, many Singaporeans struggle to stay on track. In the Diverse Asia Survey 2024 conducted by Manulife Investments, eight in 10 respondents acknowledged the need to plan ahead to avoid becoming a burden on their children. Yet, more than half of them felt compelled to delay their retirement planning due to financial responsibilities towards elderly family members.

Helping you meet your retirement goals

To bridge this gap, Manulife Investments has partnered with Maybank to launch a solution that provides flexibility to customise to each individual’s unique financial circumstances and risk appetites. Manulife Empower Solutions is designed to provide tailored strategies that evolve with changing needs, whether the goal is growing savings, preserving wealth or generating income during retirement.

At the core of the solution is a customised portfolio built from a suite of four funds that offer exposures to equities, fixed income, and alternative assets for a diversified investment portfolio. The four funds are:

These funds are then blended into investment portfolios in a way that matches different risk profiles and objectives. There are two strategies that underpin the allocation of funds.

The first strategy follows a structured “glide path” that gradually shifts portfolio allocation from higher risk to lower risk as retirement approaches. For example, a 40-year-old investor with a higher risk appetite may start with a 90-per-cent allocation in the Growth Fund and 10 per cent in the Moderate Fund. By age 60, this investor may transition to an 80-per-cent allocation in the Conservative Fund and 20 per cent in the Moderate Fund to lower his risk exposure and aim to preserve capital for retirement.

The glide path takes into account factors such as the number of years until retirement, risk tolerance and retirement income needs, and is designed to minimise longevity risk and shortfall risk for a typical investor profile.

The second strategy allows for personalised asset allocation that deviates from the glide path to better align with an investor’s unique financial goals and circumstances.

This flexibility ensures that individuals can build a retirement strategy that evolves with their changing needs, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach.

Explains Mr Marc Franklin, senior portfolio manager and deputy head of Multi-Asset Solutions in Asia at Manulife Investments: “Too often, clients position their investment portfolios without considering whether they truly align with their life stage, circumstances or financial goals.

“We designed Manulife Empower Solutions in a way that it is flexible and can be personalised to adapt to everyone’s unique journey or have the assurance that comes from following a carefully designed glide path.”

A plan that is tailored to you

The approach taken by Manulife Empower Solutions differs from many of the existing retirement solutions in the market, which often rely on pre-determined risk profiles set at inception and may not adapt to changes in an investor’s risk tolerance, income, or retirement age. This rigidity could result in investors being under-invested or overly cautious, potentially limiting their returns and hence ability to achieve their retirement goals.

Manulife Empower Solutions also aim to overcome individuals’ hesitance to seek professional guidance for retirement planning. The Diverse Asia Survey 2024 found that 60 per cent of respondents would like professional advice. However, many hold back due to concerns that their unique financial situations may not be fully understood or truly personalised solutions may not be available. Others are uncertain about how professional advice can benefit them.

This is where Maybank comes in. The bank’s relationship managers are able to leverage digital tools developed by Manulife Investments to help investors identify the best approach for their needs. Through personalised advice and active management, investments are continuously optimised to align with both individual goals and evolving market conditions.

Says Mr Alvin Lee, Maybank Singapore Country CEO: “We are delighted to partner with Manulife Investments to develop investment solutions with flexible portfolio structures that adapt to customers’ financial priorities across different life stages, enhancing their retirement planning and securing their financial future.

“As Singapore will be a ‘super-aged’ society by 2026, the Empower Solutions enable customers to achieve their wealth and income goals at every life stage. By leveraging our combined investment insights, digital capabilities and multi-asset expertise, we deliver differentiated solutions to our clients, tailored to their evolving needs.”

Learn more

Important Information

Manager of the Funds: Manulife Investment Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (“Manulife Investments”) (UEN: 200709952G). Distributor of the Funds: Maybank Singapore Limited (“Maybank”) (UEN: 201804195C). The information provided herein does not constitute financial advice or an offer or recommendation with respect to the Funds, nor is it intended as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to invest in the Funds. Investments in the Funds are not deposits with, guaranteed or insured by the Manager and involve risks. Distributions are not guaranteed. The value of units in the Funds and any income accruing to them, if any, may fall or rise. Investors should read the prospectus and seek advice from a financial adviser before deciding whether to purchase units in any Fund. A copy of the prospectus and the product highlights sheet can be obtained from Manulife Investments or Maybank. In the event an investor chooses not to seek advice from a financial adviser, he should consider whether the Funds are suitable for him. The Funds may use financial derivative instruments (which entail specific risks as described in the prospectus) for efficient portfolio management and/or hedging. Unless otherwise stated, all opinions and information in this advertisement are sourced from Manulife Investments, the manager of the Funds. (Note: The “Funds” refer to the Manulife Empower Growth Fund, Manulife Empower Moderate Fund, Manulife Empower Conservative Fund and Manulife Empower Income Fund.)

This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.