Retail Banks

DBS partners J.P. Morgan Asset Management to develop industry-first personalised retirement proposition to help Singaporeans better prepare for retirement

DBS Bank (DBS) and J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) today announced an exclusive multi-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to leverage digital technologies to co-develop a personalised end-to-end retirement proposition for all five million DBS/POSB customers in Singapore. This will comprise an individualised retirement glidepath portfolio that would be integrated into the bank’s AI-powered digital advisory tool DBS NAV Planner, so that customers can retire well by optimising their drawdowns of savings, investments and other retirement benefits wisely in real time.

Singapore’s population continues to age rapidly, with one in four Singaporeans expected to be 65 years or older by 2030. Amid rising inflation rates, compounded by other factors such as rising healthcare costs, the ability to retire well is a foremost concern for most. While many are familiar with the concept of investing to accumulate wealth, there is a pressing need to help customers learn to draw down on their retirement nest-egg systematically (i.e., decumulate) while still optimising idle funds for investment, and in a timeframe that reflects their true retirement journey.

The DBS-JPMAM partnership seeks to close this gap by creating an industry-first proposition that fuses JPMAM’s expertise in building personalised retirement glidepath model portfolios with existing capabilities in DBS NAV Planner’s “Map Your Money” function. Together, it will take into consideration customers’ current assets and retirement needs/goals to chart a personalised retirement plan, and manage this dynamically as they progress through life:

  • Based on data of customers’ current assets, DBS NAV Planner’s “Map Your Money” function will assess their retirement adequacy and project their future needs. It will also identify the shortfalls and shed light on how to bridge these, in order for customers to achieve their preferred retirement lifestyle.
  • A personalised glidepath-based retirement portfolio solution will then be generated for customers to consider investing in. They will also be able to visualise the impact of the glidepath solution on their retirement plans.
  • Customers will be able to monitor the portfolio solution’s performance digitally at all times. They are also empowered to adjust their investment preferences (e.g. retirement drawdown amount, frequency) along the way should circumstances change.
  • The glidepath-based retirement solution helps ensure that customers stay optimally invested throughout both good and bad times. Upon their retirement, customers can also draw down on their fund systematically with ease, while keeping the rest of it invested.


The regular and tailored payouts from this retirement investment portfolio is specifically structured to complement government schemes like CPF and Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS), as well as other income flows (e.g. insurance or rental income), to build a system of diversified, predictable cash flows for a sustainable retirement plan. DBS/POSB customers can expect the proposition to launch in Q3 next year. 

Jeremy Soo, Head of Consumer Banking Group (Singapore), DBS Bank, said: “To mitigate longevity and inflation concerns, we need to have a holistic view of our cash flow projections and clarity on how they can be systematically paid out during retirement. This enables us to avoid two possible extremes – underspending, which impacts quality of life during retirement, and overspending, which could lead to us outliving our nest egg. At DBS, we’re committed to continually innovating and providing our customers with best-in-class solutions and are excited to be partnering JPMAM on the development of this industry-first retirement proposition. It is our hope that this will empower our customers to build a more robust and resilient financial future in their golden years, whilst keeping the entire process seamless and hassle-free.”

 

Sherene Ban, Singapore and South East Asia CEO, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with DBS and bringing our global retirement capabilities to Singapore investors through DBS’ well-established distribution network. While Singapore has one of the most developed national retirement systems in Asia, it is predominantly reliant on the Central Provident Fund (CPF) scheme. Private retirement solutions could play a significant role in completing and optimising the nation’s retirement landscape. We look forward to tailoring our global retirement solutions to contribute to Singapore’s private retirement buildout and help Singaporeans achieve their financial well-being goals.”