For Immediate Release October 15, 2014

Indonesians expect their retirement consumption to fall to 68% of the pre-retirement level, but current retirees actually face consumption at about 94% of the pre-retirement level, highlighting the importance of efficiently allocating assets to meet retirement needs.

Jakarta - Manulife Asset Management has released new Aging Asia research which analyses retirement consumption patterns across six Asian markets and contrasts this with survey results on the retirement consumption expectations of investors in these markets. The research finds that most Indonesians are underestimating the level of retirement consumption that they will likely need to finance.

Entitled Big spenders: The myth of lower consumption in the golden years, the publication is the latest in Manulife Asset Management's ongoing Aging Asia research series. It reveals that while Indonesian respondents to the Manulife Investor Sentiment Index (MISI) survey indicated that they expect their level of consumption in retirement to decline to 68% of the pre-retirement level1, current retirees are facing consumption at around 94% of the pre-retirement level.

Michael Dommermuth, President, International Asset Management, Manulife Asset Management, commented: "This surprising finding led us to closely examine retirement consumption patterns in Japan and Taiwan, Asia's most aged and wealthiest markets, respectively, to see what insights they might hold for a country like Indonesia, which is still relatively young but is aging rapidly and is enjoying relatively robust economic growth.

"We found that although levels of consumption did not fall in these markets - indeed, it actually increased in Japan - the composition of consumption changed significantly. While spending on education, transportation and communications declined, expenditures for housing-related items, healthcare and food & beverages increased, in some cases more than offsetting the declines in other categories."

This represents a potentially significant challenge for Indonesian investors, as 77% of survey respondents indicated that they are financially well prepared for retirement, but our findings reveal that they are likely underestimating the level of savings necessary to support their retirement consumption levels.

It also highlights the importance of ensuring that all potential sources of retirement income are efficiently mobilised, including salary and wages, government social spending, pensions, family support and income arising from household wealth.

"Among these, we feel that maximising the potential for income on household wealth is particularly important," said Legowo Kusumonegoro, President Director of PT Manulife Aset Manajemen Indonesia. "Indonesia's per-capita income is forecast to grow an average of 4.5% per annum through 2019[2]. By investing a portion of this increased income in assets such as equities and bonds, which have the potential to pay higher returns than bank deposits, we feel that Indonesians can be better prepared to meet likely higher-than-expected consumption needs in retirement.

"However, many Indonesians may feel that they do not have the expertise to select investments with the potential to deliver attractive returns. With these individuals in mind, we have rolled out an education program which emphases the importance of focusing on the three "I"s of investment - awareness (insyaf), frugal living (irit) and investing (invest) - and introduces investment options such as mutual funds. Mutual funds can be a good way for investors to benefit from the insights of equity and bond investment professionals and to potentially enhance their investment returns and further build their retirement savings pots."

About PT Manulife Aset Manajemen Indonesia
Established in 1996, PT Manulife Aset Manajemen Indonesia ("MAMI"), a member of Manulife, offers investment management and mutual fund products in Indonesia. Since its establishment, the company has consistently maintained its position as one of the leading investment management companies in the Indonesian mutual fund and discretionary fund industry, with assets under management of IDR48.27 trillion as at 30 June 2014. In 2014, MAMI was named The Best Fund House by Bisnis Indonesia. MAMI has a range of 19 mutual funds comprising Fixed Income, Equity (including Sharia Equity), Balanced and Money Market products, supported by its professional and experienced investment teams. MAMI was the first investment management company in Indonesia to launch an equity fund, named Manulife Institutional Equity Fund, specifically for institutional investors. MAMI was also the first investment management company in Indonesia to launch an equity fund denominated in US dollars, the Manulife Greater Indonesia Fund. MAMI is part of Manulife Asset Management, the global asset management arm of Manulife.

About Manulife Asset Management
Manulife Asset Management is the global asset management arm of Manulife, providing comprehensive asset management solutions for institutional investors and investment funds in key markets around the world. This investment expertise extends across a broad range of public and private asset classes, as well as asset allocation solutions. As at 30 June 2014, assets under management for Manulife Asset Management were approximately US$281 billion. Manulife Asset Management's public markets units have investment expertise across a broad range of asset classes including public equity and fixed income, and asset allocation strategies. Offices with full investment capabilities are located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines. In addition, Manulife Asset Management has a joint venture asset management business in China, Manulife TEDA. The public markets units of Manulife Asset Management also provide investment management services to affiliates' retail clients through product offerings of Manulife and John Hancock. John Hancock Asset Management and Declaration Management and Research are units of Manulife Asset Management. Additional information about Manulife Asset Management may be found at ManulifeAM.com.

About Manulife Financial
Manulife is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Clients look to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most significant financial decisions. Our international network of employees, agents and distribution partners offers financial protection and wealth management products and services to millions of clients. We also provide asset management services to institutional customers. Funds under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries were approximately US$597 billion as at 30 June 2014. We operate as John Hancock in the US and as Manulife in other parts of the world. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK.manulife.com.

Media contact:
Dyah Wulandari
Marketing Communication
PT Manulife Aset Manajemen Indonesia
Tel: +62 21 2555 7788 ext. 2658
Mobile: +62 812 9100 188
dyah_wulandari@manulifeam.com

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