An average of 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 years old every day, and it will remain this way for the next few decades. People are also living longer, in many cases much longer than previous generations. Meanwhile, entitlements are shrinking, family interdependencies are multiplying, and economic uncertainty is widespread. These trends have resulted in unprecedented complexity when preparing for and managing life in retirement, and call for a new approach.

Today, Merrill Lynch introduces Merrill Lynch Clear™, a pioneering framework that offers a more comprehensive way of helping people navigate to and throughout retirement. The result of years of extensive research and thousands of hours of conversations with people about what matters most during this stage of life, Merrill Lynch Clear modernizes the process of preparing for retirement through:

  • An exploration of seven distinct life priorities – including health, home, family, finance, giving, work and leisure – connecting the financial aspects of life in retirement.
  • Deeper levels of education and insight about priorities and concerns through a series of videos, guides, seminars and other rich content to help people make informed decisions.
  • Specially trained financial advisors with innovative tools to bring this approach and these resources together for clients throughout their lives, as needs and priorities change.

The framework is designed to better connect people’s lives to their finances through broader, more personally meaningful conversations with their financial advisors about their priorities. This exploration then leads to goal setting, the creation of an investment strategy to help pursue those goals, and making course corrections along the way.

“Retirement today is a totally different experience,” said Andy Sieg, head of Global Wealth and Retirement Solutions for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “Baby boomers are living later life in ways no other generation has. This requires a bold new approach to helping people think about their lives in a comprehensive way, explore opportunities and challenges, and seek peace of mind.”

Among Merrill Lynch Clear’s unique tools is a series of iPad “Discovery Apps” created to help facilitate deeper conversations between clients and advisors. The first apps in this expanding series focus on the exploration of life priorities, along with social security, health care, lifetime income and knowing your investment personality. These apps offer a dynamic approach to helping people consider retirement in ways they may never have before, using illustrations, educational resources, and interactive exercises to better understand priorities and allocate resources based on personal goals and circumstances.

“Making sense of retirement is challenging for everyone,” said David Tyrie, head of Retirement and Personal Wealth Solutions for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “Merrill Lynch Clear is designed to help people face these challenges in a confident manner, reduce uncertainties, and make complex conversations and decisions easier.”

Through Merrill Lynch Clear, financial advisors have access to teams of retirement, wealth, trust and insurance specialists across the country to help them better address the needs of clients in their later years. Merrill Lynch has also named Cyndi Hutchins as director of Financial Gerontology, providing another unique resource to help advisors address the challenges that come with aging.

“People are looking for advisors who understand that the retirement conversation isn’t about a math equation or beating benchmarks,” said John Thiel, head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. “Achieving goals requires more informed discussions about what matters most, and the flexibility to course-correct when priorities and personal situations inevitably shift throughout life.”

The retirement website (www.ml.com/retire) has also been redesigned with actionable content and resources from Merrill Lynch and third-party experts to help clients navigate life in retirement. New content being introduced on an ongoing basis includes original articles, client and expert videos, webcasts and research on topics ranging from: Changing the Conversation About Retirement, Understanding Health Care Costs, The Caregiver’s Financial Guide, Sharing the Family Vacation Home, An Encore Education for Your Encore Career, Financial Guide for First-Time Grandparents and much more. Follow us on Twitter @Merrill Lynch.

Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management
Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management is a leading provider of comprehensive wealth management and investment services for individuals and businesses globally. With more than 13,700 Financial Advisors and $1.9 trillion in client balances as of March 31, 2014, it is among the largest businesses of its kind in the world. Within Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, the Private Banking and Investment Group provides tailored solutions to ultra affluent clients, offering both the intimacy of a boutique and the resources of a premier global financial services company. These clients are served by more than 150 Private Wealth Advisor teams, along with experts in areas such as investment management, concentrated stock management and intergenerational wealth transfer strategies. Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management is part of Bank of America Corporation.

Source: Bank of America. Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management (MLGWM) represents multiple business areas within Bank of America’s wealth and investment management division including Merrill Lynch Wealth Management (North America and International), Merrill Lynch Trust Company, and Private Banking and Investments Group. As of March 31, 2014, MLGWM entities had approximately $1.9 trillion in client balances. Client Balances consists of the following assets of clients held in their MLGWM accounts: assets under management (AUM) of MLGWM entities, client brokerage assets, assets in custody of MLGWM entities, loan balances and deposits of MLGWM clients held at Bank of America, N.A. and affiliated banks.

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