497K 1 a_put1612lf2sum.htm PUTNAM FUNDS TRUST

Putnam Retirement Income Fund Lifestyle 2

Before you invest, you may wish to review the fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and its risks. You may obtain the prospectus and other information about the fund, including the statement of additional information (SAI) and most recent reports to shareholders, at no cost by visiting putnam.com/funddocuments, calling 1-800-225-1581, or e-mailing Putnam at funddocuments@putnam.com.

The fund’s prospectus and SAI, both dated 12/30/15, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.

Goal

Putnam Retirement Income Fund Lifestyle 2 seeks current income consistent with what Putnam Investment Management, LLC believes to be prudent risk.

Fees and expenses

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in class A shares or $50,000 in class M shares of Putnam funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial advisor and in How do I buy fund shares? beginning on page 23 of the fund’s prospectus and in How to buy shares beginning on page II-1 of the fund’s statement of additional information (SAI).

Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Share class	Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower)
Class A	4.00%	1.00%*
Class B	NONE	5.00%**
Class C	NONE	1.00%***
Class M	3.25%	NONE
Class R	NONE	NONE
Class Y	NONE	NONE

Annual fund operating expenses
(expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Share class	Management fees	Distribution and service (12b-1) fees	Other expenses⁼	Acquired fund fees and expenses^@	Total annual fund operating expenses	Expense reimbursement^#	Total annual fund operating expenses after expense reimbursement
Class A	0.29%	0.25%	1.54%	0.26%	2.34%	(1.38)%	0.96%
Class B	0.29%	1.00%	1.54%	0.26%	3.09%	(1.38)%	1.71%
Class C	0.29%	1.00%	1.54%	0.26%	3.09%	(1.38)%	1.71%
Class M	0.29%	0.50%	1.54%	0.26%	2.59%	(1.38)%	1.21%
Class R	0.29%	0.50%	1.54%	0.26%	2.59%	(1.38)%	1.21%
Class Y	0.29%	N/A	1.54%	0.26%	2.09%	(1.38)%	0.71%

* Applies only to certain redemptions of shares bought with no initial sales charge.

** This charge is phased out over six years.

*** This charge is eliminated after one year.

= Restated to reflect current fees resulting from a change to the fund’s investor servicing arrangements effective September 1, 2016.

@ Acquired fund fees and expenses are based on projected net expenses of the underlying funds and assume the fund’s typical allocations to the underlying funds described in Investments, risks and performance — Investments and a 4% allocation to Putnam Government Money Market Fund.

# Reflects Putnam Investment Management, LLC’s contractual obligation to limit certain fund expenses through December 30, 2017. This obligation may be modified or discontinued only with approval of the Board of Trustees.

Example

The following hypothetical example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then, except as indicated, redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. It assumes a 5% return on your investment each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Only the first year of each period in the example takes into account the expense reimbursement described above. Your actual costs may be higher or lower.

Share class	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years
Class A	$494	$974	$1,480	$2,867
Class B	$674	$1,124	$1,700	$3,129
Class B (no redemption)	$174	$824	$1,500	$3,129
Class C	$274	$824	$1,500	$3,305
Class C (no redemption)	$174	$824	$1,500	$3,305
Class M	$444	$977	$1,536	$3,055
Class R	$123	$674	$1,251	$2,822
Class Y	$73	$521	$996	$2,311

Portfolio turnover

The fund pays transaction-related costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when the fund’s shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or the above example, affect fund performance. The fund’s turnover rate in the most recent fiscal year was 28%.

Investments, risks, and performance

Investments

The fund’s asset allocation strategy may be attractive to investors who are in or near retirement, or who otherwise intend to make periodic withdrawals of their investment in the near future. Using qualitative analysis and quantitative techniques, we adjust portfolio allocations between fixed-income and equity investments from time to time within a certain range to try to optimize the fund’s performance consistent with its goal.

The strategic allocation and the range of allowable allocation for the fund are shown below.

Class	Strategic allocation	Range
Equity	30%	0–40%
Fixed-Income	70%	60–100%

We invest mainly in a combination of bonds and common stocks of U.S. and non-U.S. companies and in Putnam Absolute Return 100 Fund, Putnam Absolute Return 300 Fund, Putnam Absolute Return 500 Fund and Putnam Absolute Return 700 Fund, which are other Putnam mutual funds and referred to as underlying funds. We may invest without limit in bonds that are either investment-grade or below-investment-grade in quality (sometimes referred to as “junk bonds”) and have short- to long-term maturities. We also invest in other fixed-income securities, such as mortgage-backed investments, and invest in money market securities or affiliated money market or short-term investment funds for cash management. We also invest, to a lesser extent, in equity securities (growth or value stocks or both) of companies of any size. We may consider, among other factors, credit, interest rate and prepayment risks, as well as general market conditions, when deciding whether to buy or sell fixed-income investments, and, among other factors, a company’s valuation, financial strength, growth potential, competitive position in its industry, projected future earnings, cash flows and dividends when deciding whether to buy or sell equity investments.

We may also select other investments that do not fall within these asset classes. We may use derivatives, such as futures, options, certain foreign currency transactions, warrants and swap contracts, for both hedging and non-hedging purposes.

The typical allocation and the range of allowable allocations of the fund’s assets in the underlying funds that we currently expect are shown below.

Underlying fund	Permitted investments	Typical allocation	Range
Putnam Absolute Return 100 Fund	Fixed-income, derivatives	5%	0–20%
Putnam Absolute Return 300 Fund	Fixed-income, derivatives	12%	0–30%
Putnam Absolute Return 500 Fund	Equities, fixed-income, alternative investments, derivatives	20%	0–40%
Putnam Absolute Return 700 Fund	Equities, fixed-income, alternative investments, derivatives	3%	0–20%

For purposes of measuring the fund’s allocations to fixed-income and equity investments, we regard Putnam Absolute Return 100 Fund and Putnam Absolute Return 300 Fund as fixed-income investments, Putnam Absolute Return 500 Fund as a 50% fixed-income and 50% equity investment, and Putnam Absolute Return 700 Fund as an equity investment. The fund’s remaining assets are invested in other securities, as described above.

Risks

It is important to understand that you can lose money by investing in the fund. There is no guarantee that the fund will provide adequate income at and through an investor’s retirement.

The fund and the underlying funds bear the following risks. Our allocation of assets among asset classes and the underlying funds may hurt performance. The value of stocks and bonds in the fund’s portfolio may fall or fail to rise over extended periods of time for a variety of reasons, including general financial market conditions, changing market perceptions of the risk of default, changes in government intervention in the financial markets, and factors related to a specific issuer or industry. These factors may also lead to periods of high volatility and reduced liquidity in the bond markets. Growth stocks may be more susceptible to earnings disappointments, and value stocks may fail to rebound. These risks are generally greater for small and midsize companies.

Bond investments are subject to interest rate risk, which means the value of the fund’s bond investments is likely to fall if interest rates rise. Bond investments also are subject to credit risk, which is the risk that the issuer of the bond may default on payment of interest or principal. Interest rate risk is generally greater for longer-term bonds, and credit risk is generally greater for below-investment-grade bonds, which may be considered speculative. Mortgage-backed investments, unlike traditional debt investments, are also subject to prepayment risk, which means that they may increase in value less than other bonds when interest rates decline and decline in value more than other bonds when interest rates rise. We may have to invest the proceeds from prepaid investments, including mortgage-backed investments, in other investments with less attractive terms and yields.

The value of international investments traded in foreign currencies may be adversely impacted by fluctuations in exchange rates. International investments, particularly investments in emerging markets, may carry risks associated with potentially

less stable economies or governments (such as the risk of seizure by a foreign government, the imposition of currency or other restrictions, or high levels of inflation), and may be or become illiquid. Our use of derivatives may increase the risk of investing in the fund by increasing investment exposure (which may be considered leverage) or, in the case of many over-the-counter instruments, because of the potential inability to terminate or sell derivatives positions and the potential failure of the other party to the instrument to meet its obligations.

The fund may not achieve its goal, and it is not intended to be a complete investment program. An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Investor profile

The fund is one of a suite of three Putnam Retirement Income Lifestyle Funds designed to offer a choice of potential risk/return profiles for investors in or near retirement or otherwise seeking an investment for use with a periodic withdrawal program. Investors are encouraged to seek the assistance of a financial advisor in selecting a Putnam Retirement Income Lifestyle Fund and in developing a periodic withdrawal program that is appropriate to their personal investment goals and financial circumstances. The fund makes no representations regarding its suitability for any particular investor or periodic withdrawal program. Investors should understand that pursuing higher returns may involve higher volatility and that a fund’s performance results may not be sustainable.

Performance

The performance information below gives some indication of the risks associated with an investment in the fund by showing the fund’s performance year to year and over time. The bar chart does not reflect the impact of sales charges. If it did, performance would be lower. Please remember that past performance is not necessarily an indication of future results. Monthly performance figures for the fund are available at putnam.com.

Annual total returns for class A shares before sales charges

Average annual total returns after sales charges
(for periods ending 12/31/15)

Share class	1 year	Since inception (6/13/11)
Class A before taxes	–5.20%	2.52%
Class A after taxes on distributions	–6.75%	1.31%
Class A after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares	–2.36%	1.59%
Class B before taxes	–6.70%	2.27%
Class C before taxes	–2.96%	2.66%
Class M before taxes	–4.77%	2.43%
Class R before taxes	–1.48%	3.19%
Class Y before taxes	–1.03%	3.71%
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	0.55%	2.85%
S&P 500 Index (no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	1.38%	13.40%

After-tax returns reflect the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are shown for class A shares only and will vary for other classes. These after-tax returns do not apply if you hold your fund shares through a 401(k) plan, an IRA, or another tax-advantaged arrangement.

Your fund’s management

Investment advisor

Putnam Investment Management, LLC

Portfolio managers

James Fetch
Co-Head of Global Asset Allocation,
portfolio manager of the fund
since 2012

Robert Kea
Co-Head of Global Asset Allocation,
portfolio manager of the fund
since 2011

Robert Schoen
Chief Investment Officer - Global Asset
Allocation, portfolio manager of the
fund since 2011

Jason Vaillancourt
Co-Head of Global Asset Allocation,
portfolio manager of the fund
since 2012

Sub-advisors

Putnam Investments Limited*

The Putnam Advisory Company, LLC*

* Though the investment advisor has retained the services of Putnam Investments Limited (“PIL”) and The Putnam Advisory Company, LLC (“PAC”), PIL and PAC do not currently manage any assets of the fund.

Purchase and sale of fund shares

You can open an account, purchase and/or sell fund shares, or exchange them for shares of another Putnam fund by contacting your financial advisor or by calling Putnam Investor Services at 1-800-225-1581.

When opening an account, you must complete and mail a Putnam account application, along with a check made payable to the fund, to: Putnam Investor Services, P.O. Box 8383, Boston, MA 02266-8383. The minimum initial investment of $500 is currently waived, although Putnam reserves the right to reject initial investments under $500 at its discretion. There is no minimum for subsequent investments.

You can sell your shares back to the fund or exchange them for shares of another Putnam fund any day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open. Shares may be sold or exchanged by mail, by phone, or online at putnam.com. Some restrictions may apply.

Tax information

The fund’s distributions will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains unless you hold the shares through a tax-advantaged arrangement, in which case you will generally be taxed only upon withdrawal of monies from the arrangement.

Financial intermediary compensation

If you purchase the fund through a broker/dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or financial advisor), the fund and its related companies may pay that intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. Please bear in mind that these payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker/dealer or other intermediary to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your advisor or visit your advisor’s website for more information.

Information about the Summary Prospectus, Prospectus, and SAI

The summary prospectus, prospectus, and SAI for a fund provide information concerning the fund. The summary prospectus, prospectus, and SAI are updated at least annually and any information provided in a summary prospectus, prospectus, or SAI can be changed without a shareholder vote unless specifically stated otherwise. The summary prospectus, prospectus, and the SAI are not contracts between the fund and its shareholders and do not give rise to any contractual rights or obligations or any shareholder rights other than any rights conferred explicitly by federal or state securities laws that may not be waived.

Additional information, including current performance, is available at putnam.com/funddocuments, by calling 1-800-225-1581, or by e-mailing Putnam at funddocuments@putnam.com.

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