Merrill Lynch recently introduced a new, interactive retirement planning application for iPad targeted at baby boomers and developed to address trends of aging and economic uncertainty combined with increased longevity.
The app, Merrill Lynch Clear, is meant to help people navigate to and throughout retirement using a modern technology interface rather than the outdated paper approach.
“Retirement today is a totally different experience,” said Andy Sieg, head of Global Wealth and Retirement Solutions for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in a statement. “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.”
In order to develop the retirement planning tool, Merrill Lynch conducted extensive research and interviews with people about their goals and what’s important to them in their golden years.
Clear’s interactive approach to preparing for retirement includes exploring seven “distinct life priorities”—health, home, family, finance, giving, work, and leisure—and connecting the financial aspects of life in retirement. Users can adjust and customize how important each priority is to them.
The app also promotes consumers’ ability to make informed decisions by providing them with education and insight about priorities and concerns through videos, guides, seminars, and similar content.
Merrill Lynch’s goal is to better connect people’s lives to their finances through meaningful conversations with their financial advisors about their priorities. Clear gives financial advisors access to teams of retirement, wealth, trust, and insurance specialists that can help them address the needs of their clients in their later years.
“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.”
Written by Alyssa Gerace
