Dec. 4, 2014

Target Date Funds Will Help Members Simplify Savings

For Immediate Release | Contact: Brian Holland 801-366-7514

Utah Retirement Systems (URS) will introduce Target Date Funds in its savings plans on Jan. 1, 2015.

These funds provide a diverse investment mix that adjusts over time to maintain age-based, risk-adjusted, allocations throughout a member’s lifetime.

“We’re focused on making retirement benefits as user-friendly as possible for our members,” URS Executive Director Daniel D. Andersen said. “These new Target Date Funds are a cost-effective way to add simplicity and precision to the important task of saving for retirement.”

The 12 new funds gradually adjust throughout a member’s career and into retirement. The investment mix — which includes stocks, bonds, and alternatives such as commodities and REITs — is automatically reallocated to be weighted more conservatively as members age and approach retirement.

The underlying investments are managed by solid, well-known money managers (e.g., Blackrock, Dodge & Cox, Dimensional Fund Advisors). These new Target Date Funds will be available in the four URS savings plans (401(k), 457, Roth and traditional IRAs).

URS provides retirement and insurance benefits exclusively for Utah public employees, managing more than $4.5 billion in defined contribution savings plans.

“Target Date Funds are increasingly popular in the retirement industry,” Andersen said. “Instead of choosing among a number of investments and adjusting their portfolio over time, now members can select one fund that changes as they age."

An independent state agency, governed by Utah Code Title 49, URS serves almost 200,000 participants and about 470 public employers, including the State of Utah, its local governments, school districts, higher education, and more.

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