NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In an effort to motivate Americans to save for their retirement, Merrill Edge® today introduced Face Retirement, a social tool that ages a picture of consumers, enabling them to see how they will look years down the line.
“In a Stanford University experiment, people who saw age-enhanced images of themselves were more likely to save more for retirement, compared to those who weren’t exposed to their future selves,” said Alok Prasad, head of Merrill Edge. “Face Retirement is designed to minimize that gap by giving consumers a preview of their future self, encouraging them to take control of long-term financial planning.”
According to the fall 2012 Merrill Edge Report, half (52 percent) of mass affluent have saved less than $250,000 for retirement. As a result, more than half of respondents plan to retire later than they had one year ago (56 percent), a year-over-year increase of 19 percent from November 2011.
To use the Merrill Edge Face Retirement tool, visit http://faceretirement.merrilledge.com.
Consumers
can input their age and gender and use a webcam to provide their photo.
Merrill Edge users can then:
- View images of what they will look like at various ages in the future.
- Preview forecasted costs of living.
- Learn about options to begin saving today.
- Share pictures of their future self on Facebook.
Merrill Edge enables clients to seamlessly manage their Merrill Edge investment accounts and Bank of America bank accounts via its online platform, phone capabilities and branch offices. Clients have the choice to manage their money on their own via an online, self-directed investment account. As an alternative to an online investing account, clients can open a type of account that enables them to receive investment guidance and specific recommendations from a licensed Financial Solutions Advisor by phone or in select banking centers.
Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 55 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 5,500 banking centers and approximately 16,300 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 30 million active online banking users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to more than 3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
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Banking products are provided by Bank of America, N.A., and affiliated banks, Members FDIC and wholly owned subsidiaries of Bank of America Corporation.
Merrill Edge is available through Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (MLPF&S), and consists of the Merrill Edge Advisory Center (investment guidance) and self-directed online investing.
MLPF&S is a registered broker-dealer, Member SIPC and wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation.
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