PUTNAM INCOME FUND
Prospectus Supplement dated August 1, 1996
to class A shares prospectus dated March 1, 1996
At a meeting held on July 31, 1996, shareholders of the fund
approved a number of changes to the fundamental investment
restrictions of the fund, including the elimination of certain
restrictions. As a result, the fund may now:
-- acquire more than 10% of the outstanding voting
securities of any issuer with respect to 25% of its
total assets; and
-- invest more than 5% of its total assets in securities
of any issuer with respect to 25% of its total assets.
(Investments in obligations issued or guaranteed as to
interest or principal by the U.S. government or its
agencies or instrumentalities are not subject to any
limitation.)
The policies set forth above are fundamental and may not be
changed without shareholder approval. See the statement of
additional information of the fund for the full text of these
policies as well as the fund's other fundamental policies, some
of which were also changed by vote of shareholders.
In addition, the fund's restriction with respect to investing up
to 5% of its assets in securities of issuers that have been in
operation for less than three years was made non-fundamental,
meaning that it could be changed in the future without
shareholder approval.
To the extent the fund invests a significant portion of its
assets in the securities of a particular issuer, the fund will be
subject to an increased risk of loss if the market value of such
issuer's securities declines.
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The following text replaces the fifth sentence of the first
paragraph under the heading "How to buy shares":
In order to be eligible to purchase shares at net asset
value, a defined contribution plan must either initially
invest at least $20 million in Putnam funds and other
investments managed by Putnam Management or its affiliates
or, if the dealer of record waives its commission with
respect to such investment, initially invest at least $1
million in the fund.
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The following text replaces the first four sentences of the
second paragraph under the heading "How to buy shares":
On sales of shares at net asset value to defined
contribution plans initially investing at least $20 million
in Putnam funds and other investments managed by Putnam
Management or its affiliates, Putnam Mutual Funds pays
commissions on the shares initially purchased and on
subsequent net quarterly sales at the rate of 0.15%.
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