Retirement

Planning 101
Your guide to helping you prepare
for a more secure retirement
Let’s get started.
Your two major sources of income through retirement likely will be your retirement plan and Social Security benefits.

On average, Social Security benefits will provide about 40% of what you need.1 Experts suggest you may need 70-90%
of your current income just to maintain your standard of living in retirement, so you may be looking at a gap between
the income you need through retirement and what your Social Security may provide.2

However, few of us are “average.” Besides, you may want to consider:

• Increases in medical and long-term care costs

• Benefits not keeping up with inflation3

• Outliving your resources

All things considered, relying solely on Social Security benefits may lead to an income gap, especially in the latter years
of retirement. Use this booklet to consider ways you can fill that gap before it starts — by saving every payday through-
out your career.

1
“Better Information on Income Replacement Rates Needed to Help Workers Plan for Retirement,” Government Accountability Office, [Link]/
products/GAO-16-242 (March 2016); “Understanding the Benefits,” Social Security Administration, [Link]/pubs/[Link] (July 2017).
Calculated as amount of pre-retirement income the GAO says an average person needs in retirement less the amount of income the SSA says Social
Security replaces, on average.
2
“America’s Retirement Savings Crisis,” Jackson National, [Link]/financialfreedomstudio/articles/2018/01/americas-retirement-savings-
[Link] (January 2018); “How Much Money Do You Need to Retire?” The Balance, [Link]/how-much-money-do-you-need-to-
retire-2466425 (August 2018); “How Much Money Do I Need to Retire?” AARP, [Link]/work/retirement-planning/info-2015/nest-egg-retirement-
[Link] (accessed October 2018); “Retirement Planning Tips,” North American Securities Administrators Association, [Link]/2232/
retirement-planning-tips (accessed October 2018); “Taking the Mystery Out of Retirement Planning,” Department of Labor, [Link]/sites/default/
files/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/publications/[Link] (December 2014).
3
“Why Social Security’s annual increase doesn’t actually keep up with cost of living,” PBS NewsHour, [Link]/newshour/economy/making-sense/
why-social-securitys-annual-increase-doesnt-actually-keep-up-with-cost-of-living (October 2018); “Why Doesn’t My Social Security Benefit Keep Pace
With Inflation?” The Motley Fool, [Link]/retirement/2018/09/04/[Link] (September 2018);
“Social Security’s COLA increase probably won’t help retirees much” MarketWatch, [Link]/story/social-securitys-cola-increase-
probably-wont-help-retirees-much-2018-09-19 (September 2018).
Retirement realities
03

52+48 52%
of households are
“at risk” of not having
enough to maintain
their living standards
in retirement.4

90
Age that an estimated
1 in 4 65-year-olds today
will reach. 1 in 10 are
expected to live past 95.6
$275,000
Amount a 65-year-old couple
can expect in total out-of-
pocket health care expenses
through retirement.5

RETIREMENT
realities

10 minutes
Time it takes to get an idea of your current retirement
readiness using My Interactive Retirement PlannerSM,
available in the Learning Center of your Plan website.

4
“National Retirement Risk Index,” Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, [Link]/special-projects/
national-retirement-risk-index (September 2016).
5
“Retiree Health Care Costs Continue to Surge,” Fidelity Viewpoints (September 2017). Estimate based on a hypothetical
couple retiring in 2017, with average life expectancies of 85 for a male and 87 for a female.
6
Data compiled by the Social Security Administration (accessed October 2016). Average life expectancy for a male is
85 years; for a female, 87.
 Benefits of plan
participation
04

Sometimes, less is more. Retirement is not one

of those times.
Your Social Security benefits alone may not provide the income you may need through retirement.
That’s why your employer sponsors a retirement plan — a tax-advantaged long-term investment
savings plan created specifically for employees like you.

Why you should participate in the Plan:

Easy
Once you enroll, contributions are
made through payroll deduction.

Growth potential Tax advantages

Earnings are automatically Retirement Invest pretax income to give your
reinvested, allowing for account a chance to grow more
additional growth. Plan quickly. You will pay ordinary
income taxes when you take
Company match
withdrawals.
Your employer may match
your contributions, which Tax-free retirement income
can boost your account’s If your plan allows a Roth option,
potential growth. you can elect to make Roth
after-tax contributions so that,
subject to certain conditions, your
Portability withdrawals will be tax-free.7
If you leave your job, you may be
able to roll your assets into another
eligible retirement plan or IRA.

TIP: Get to know My Interactive Retirement PlannerSM, a powerful resource available on

your Plan website. Within 10 minutes, you will understand why enrolling in your employer’s
retirement plan is so important.

7
Under current tax law, withdrawals will be tax-free if the withdrawal is made on account of death, disability or attainment
of age 59½, and the withdrawal is made five years or more after the January 1 of the first year a Roth contribution was made
to the plan.
This information is general in nature and is not intended to be tax, legal, accounting or other professional advice. The information
provided is based on current laws, which are subject to change at any time, and has not been endorsed by any government
agency.
 05

BENEFITS OF
The earlier you start saving, the less it may
cost per pay period to reach your goal.

plan participation
That’s because your biweekly contributions and any earnings get continually reinvested.
This process, called compounding, uses time to help your money make money for you. Like
all investing strategies, compounding is not guaranteed to provide enough money through
retirement. But it can be a powerful engine for potential asset growth, especially through
long-term savings programs such as a retirement plan.

The snowball effect of compounding

In the example below, Investor #1 invests $2,000 per year beginning at age 30 and then stops
investing after 10 years ($20,000 total contribution). Although she’s no longer contributing to the
account, she leaves her money in the account to grow for an additional 25 years.
Investor #2 procrastinates and doesn’t start investing until age 40. He contributes $2,000 per year
for a total of 25 years up until the day he retires ($50,000 total contribution).
Although Investor #1 invested $30,000 less than Investor #2, she ended up with a much higher
account balance at retirement. That’s because she gave her money 10 more years to grow.

Investor #1’s 10-YEAR INVESTMENT/ ADDITIONAL COMPOUNDING $160,474

Account COMPOUNDING PERIOD ON TOP OF INVESTMENT AT RETIREMENT

Investor #2’s 25-YEAR INVESTMENT/ $135,353

Account COMPOUNDING PERIOD AT RETIREMENT

Age
65

This illustration is a hypothetical compounding calculation assuming a 7% annual rate of return. It is not intended to serve as
a projection or prediction of the investment results of any specific investment. Investments are not guaranteed. Depending
on your underlying investments, your return may be higher or lower. Interest compounded annually based on beginning-year
contributions. No taxes or fees are reflected in this example, which would lower the results displayed.
Source: Nationwide® (2014).
 Get to know investing
06

What funds should I invest in?

That’s a question only you can answer.
The core investment options in the retirement A Capital preservation funds invest
plan are mutual funds,8 which are portfolios of primarily in options that can be
turned into cash relatively easily.
underlying stocks, bonds and other investment
Returns may not keep pace with
options. Each fund is managed by a professional inflation, and may produce a
money manager and has a stated objective or negative rate of return when fund
investment style. Select funds to have a mix of expenses are factored in.
asset classes that meet your personal criteria and B Bond funds tend to be categorized
to match your comfort with market risk. by the types of bonds the manager
invests in. These funds have the
For more information on specific investment same interest rate, inflation and
options, go to [Link]/ credit risks associated with the
investmentoptions and enter your plan number underlying bonds owned by the
<[Link]>. Select Comparative Chart of fund.
Investment Options. Under each fund name, you C Large-cap stock funds tend to be
can link to the prospectus and/or fact sheet. dominated by well-established
companies that may have less
room to grow and, thus, may not
have the same growth potential as
mid- or small-cap funds.
F International stock funds D Mid-cap stock funds invest in
midsized companies. These funds
Potential Reward

E Small-cap stock funds may have less liquidity than funds

investing in larger, established
D Mid-cap stock funds
companies, and may be subject to
greater price volatility and risk than
C Large-cap stock funds
the overall stock market.
B Bond funds E Small-cap stock funds invest
primarily in small companies. These
A Capital preservation funds funds may have less liquidity, may
be subject to greater price volatility
Potential Risk and may involve greater market
risk than the overall market.
F International stock funds invest
Every investment has a risk level associated with primarily outside of the United
it. That risk level generally corresponds with the States, which involves risks not
likelihood of a reward, based on time and market associated with investing primarily
in the U.S., such as currency
conditions. The higher the risk, the greater the
fluctuation, political instability,
potential for growth, but at a higher risk of losing foreign regulations, differences in
value. The lower the risk, the less the potential for accounting and limited availability
return, but at a lower risk of losing value. of information.

8
Certain investment options may not be mutual funds. If so, the option(s) will be clearly defined with a stated investment purpose in a
fact sheet available as described above.
Investing involves market risk, including possible loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee to make a profit or avoid loss.
Actual results will vary depending on your investment and market experience.
 07

GET TO KNOW
Find your comfort zone.
Depending on your age, risk tolerance, investing experience and personal preference, you may consider

investing
one of these investment strategies a good fit for you.

Help me do it Do it myself Do it for me

Select target date retirement Select your investments from Your retirement account
fund the options available through investments are managed
the Plan by professionals

Fund manager manages Manage your asset mix Your investment strategy is
asset diversification to to achieve a comfortable personalized to your Risk
become more conservative balance of risk vs. growth Profile and age
as retirement year gets potential
nearer

You may need to make Revisit your investment Your investments are
adjustments to your strategy as your needs managed and adjusted over
investment strategy as your change over time time and can be updated
needs, projected retirement anytime your needs change
date or other personal
factors change over time

Please remember there is no assurance that the investment objective of any fund (or that of any underlying fund) will be achieved,
nor that a diversified portfolio will produce better results than a nondiversified portfolio. Asset allocation and diversification do not
guarantee returns or insulate an investor from potential losses, including possible loss of principal.
Even with professional management, there is no guarantee that your investment objectives will be met. There is no guarantee that
professional management of your retirement assets will provide enough income at or through retirement.
Target date funds are designed for people who plan to begin withdrawing money during or near a specific target date, such as at
retirement. These funds are designed to provide diversification and asset allocation across several types of investments and asset
classes, primarily by investing in underlying funds. The Funds offer continuous rebalancing over time to become more conservative
as investors approach their planned retirement date. In addition to the expenses of the target date funds, an investor is indirectly
paying a proportionate share of the applicable fees and expenses of the underlying funds. The principal value of the fund is not
guaranteed at any time, including the target date.
 Finding your investment
strategy
08

Choose convenience.
Help me do it
Consider a target date fund.
Consider just one fund from the menu of target date retirement funds, which manage investment mix to become
gradually more conservative as the retirement date described by the fund’s name approaches. Because these funds
are already diversified among asset classes to meet the fund’s investment objectives, they are designed to be used
as the sole investment vehicle for your Plan account.

Target date
Features and benefits fund

Simplifies investment decisions by allowing you to select

one fund based on goals and needs

Provides asset diversification by investing in a broad variety

of asset classes in a single fund

Attempts to maximize return at a risk level that is

comfortable for you

Manages investment mix to become gradually more

conservative as the retirement date described by the fund’s
name approaches

Potentially lowers overall cost by having some underlying

assets in lower-cost index funds

Because target date funds invest in other funds, investors pay a proportionate share of the costs and expenses of
those funds. However, you can feel more confident about your investment decision because — in addition to the
features and benefits above — the manager of the fund you select continually monitors the underlying funds and
their managers.

Please remember there is no assurance that the investment objective of any fund (or that of any underlying fund) will be achieved, nor that a
diversified portfolio will produce better results than a nondiversified portfolio. Diversification does not guarantee returns or insulate an investor from
potential losses, including the possible loss of principal.
Target date funds typically use a strategy that reallocates equity exposure to a higher percentage of fixed investments over time. It’s important to
remember that no strategy can assure a profit or prevent a loss in a declining market. A target date fund’s principal value is not guaranteed at any
time, including the target date, and is not guaranteed to provide enough income through retirement.
 09

FINDING YOUR
To do it yourself, know your investing style
There’s more than one way to get to retirement. Your primary goal might be to keep your
risk low, or maybe you just want to maximize possible reward. Maybe you’re concerned with
how much time you have to save before you retire. That’s why it’s important to identify a

investment strategy
personal investing style that can help you reach your specific goals.

Take a look at the profiles below to see what fund mix might make sense for your portfolio. All the fund types
are color-coded according to the previous Risk vs. Reward chart so you can see how risk and reward relate to
aggressive, moderate and conservative profiles. For example: the Aggressive profile has more international
funds, the Conservative profile has more bonds, and the other three profiles fall somewhere in between. You’ll
also see how time factors into things in the descriptions below the chart.9

Moderately Moderately
Aggressive Aggressive Moderate Conservative Conservative
International 33% 25% 20% 14% 9%
Small-cap 7% 6% 5% 3% 2%
Mid-cap 10% 9% 7% 6% 4%
Large-cap 40% 35% 28% 22% 15%
Bonds 7% 18% 28% 38% 39%
Capital preservation 3% 7% 12% 17% 31%

3+7+401033 7+18+359625 12+28+7520 17+38+226314 31+39+15429

Aggressive
Appropriate for an
Moderately
Aggressive
Moderate
Best suits an
Moderately
Conservative
Conservative
Designed for an
investor with both Designed for an investor who seeks Appropriate for investor with a
a high tolerance investor with a relatively stable an investor who low risk tolerance
for risk and a long high tolerance for growth and a low seeks both modest and/or a short
time horizon. The risk and a longer level of income. The investment value time horizon. It is
main objective of time horizon. This investor will have increases and targeted toward
this portfolio is investor has little a higher tolerance income from their the investor
to provide high need for current for risk and/or a portfolio. This seeking stability
growth without income and seeks longer time horizon investor will have and to preserve
providing current above-average than a conservative either a moderate capital while
income. growth from their or moderately time horizon or providing income.
investable assets. conservative a slightly higher Fluctuations in
investor. The main risk tolerance the value of these
objective is to limit than someone portfolios tend to
fluctuations to less who chooses be minor.
than those of the a Conservative
overall stock market. profile.

The Asset Allocation Tool is provided for educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide personalized investment advice. The Tool, including
9

the Investor Profile Questionnaire and Asset Mix Chart, is made available through license agreement between Wilshire Associates and Nationwide.
The questionnaire does not consider all factors necessary in making an investment decision (e.g., personal and financial information and investment
objective). In no way should the Asset Allocation Tool, the questionnaire or the chart be viewed as investment advice or establishing any kind of
advisory relationship with Wilshire Associates. Wilshire Associates does not endorse and/or recommend any specific financial product that may
be used in conjunction with the asset allocation models that are presented. Please consult with your financial professional and obtain the financial
product’s prospectus (or its equivalent) and read it carefully prior to investing.
10

Can I have a professional manage my investments

for me?

60% of retirement plan participants wish it were easier to choose

the right investments for their plan account.10

Yes, the Nationwide ProAccount program is a managed How does it work?

account service designed to help take the guesswork
out of retirement investing by providing professional After completing the ProAccount Participant
management of your investments. It is offered by Agreement & Questionnaire, your retirement account
Nationwide Investment Advisors LLC (NIA), a registered will be allocated to a customized investment portfolio
investment adviser. based on your age and personal tolerance for
We’ve selected Wilshire Associates, a global investment investment risk. We’ll continue to research, select,
management firm, to serve as the Independent monitor and adjust your investments for you over
Financial Expert (IFE) for the program. Wilshire is time. Working together, NIA and Wilshire can help you
not affiliated with Nationwide, and its decisions are feel more confident about achieving your retirement
based on a rigorous, disciplined investment process investment goals. The annual fee for Nationwide
that leverages its deep knowledge of markets and ProAccount is detailed in the Participant Agreement.
investment strategies.
What are the benefits of using
What NIA does: Nationwide ProAccount?
• monitors the Independent Financial Expert (Wilshire) • Expertise from an institutional investment firm that
• implements advice generated by Wilshire and researches and selects the funds for you based on
monitors its investment strategies your age and risk tolerance

• provides periodic communications and • Your account is monitored and adjusted over time as
market conditions warrant or your needs change
ongoing support
• 90-day trial period to try the service with no
What Wilshire does: obligations — no minimum account balance or
cancellation fee
• researches strategies and asset classes to build asset
allocation portfolios
• selects investments for the portfolios Consider letting Nationwide ProAccount
• makes adjustments to help keep the portfolio in line provide professional management of your
with time horizons and market changes retirement plan investments.

10
“Inside the Minds of Plan Participants,” AllianceBernstein, [Link]/investments/us/retirement/inside-the-minds-of-plan-
[Link] (2015).
Nationwide Investment Advisors LLC (NIA) provides investment advice to plan participants enrolled in Nationwide ProAccount. NIA is an SEC-
registered investment adviser.
NIA has retained Wilshire® as an Independent Financial Expert for Nationwide ProAccount. Wilshire provides investment allocation portfolios based
on participant ages and their personal tolerance for investment risk.
NIA assesses participants an asset-based fee for the managed account services.
Retirement products are offered by Nationwide Trust Company or Nationwide Life Insurance Company.
Wilshire is a registered service mark of Wilshire Associates, which is not an affiliate of Nationwide or NIA.
 11

AVAILABLE
resources
Your best resource is our people
Got a question? Need help with making account changes?
Want to know more about a particular Plan option or service?

Our mission is to help Americans prepare for and live in retirement.

Contact your Nationwide Retirement Specialist, a Plan representative

dedicated to helping you succeed through Plan participation.
This material is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or roll over any asset, adopt an investment strategy, retain a specific investment manager
or use a particular account type. It does not take into account the specific investment objectives, tax and financial condition or particular needs
of any specific person. Investors should discuss their specific situation with their financial professional.
Investing involves market risk, including possible loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee to make a profit or avoid loss. Actual
results will vary depending on your investment and market experience.
My Interactive Retirement PlannerSM is a hypothetical compounding example and is not intended to predict or project investment results of any
specific investment. Investment return is not guaranteed and will vary depending upon your investments and market experience. Assumptions do
not include fees and expenses. If fees were reflected, the return would be less.
Nationwide Investment Advisors LLC (NIA) provides investment advice to plan participants enrolled in Nationwide ProAccount. NIA is an
SEC-registered investment adviser.
NIA has retained Wilshire® as an Independent Financial Expert for Nationwide ProAccount. Wilshire provides investment allocation portfolios
based on participants’ ages and their personal tolerance for investment risk.
NIA assesses participants an asset-based fee for the managed account services.
Retirement products are offered by Nationwide Trust Company or Nationwide Life Insurance Company.
Wilshire is a registered service mark of Wilshire Associates, which is not an affiliate of Nationwide or NIA.
The Nationwide Group Retirement Series includes unregistered group fixed and trust programs. The unregistered group fixed are issued by
Nationwide Life Insurance Company. Trust programs and trust services are offered by Nationwide Trust Company. Nationwide Investment Services
Corporation (NISC), member FINRA, Columbus, Ohio. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies, home office:
One Nationwide Plaza, Columbus, OH 43215-2220.
Nationwide, the Nationwide N and Eagle, My Interactive Retirement Planner, Nationwide ProAccount and Nationwide is on your side are service
marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. © 2018 Nationwide
PNM-15302AO-CK (11/18)