BlackRock Launches iRetire™ to Provide Unique Support for Helping to Close the Retirement Income Gap

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

BlackRock, Inc. BLK launched a whole new way to help close the retirement income gap. iRetire™ reframes the retirement challenge by providing financial advisors with tools and resources to let investors see where they stand when it comes to the number that really matters – annual income over all the years of retirement – and take action to get on track.

The new platform draws on proprietary BlackRock technology and support, including methodology that powers the firm's innovative series of retirement income indexes, CoRI™, and the powerful risk analytics of Aladdin^® to show investors where they stand today and how they could potentially get where they want to be at retirement. iRetire does this by targeting retirement income rather than the outdated concept of the nest egg.

According to recent research by BlackRock (www.blackrockinvestorpulse.com), Baby Boomers (ages 55 to 65) said they want to have $45,500 in annual retirement income, but the nest eggs they have accumulated ($132,000 in average retirement savings) could provide just $9,129¹ of estimated annual retirement income, according to the BlackRock CoRI Index 2025.

"Facing the possibility of living as much as two or three decades in retirement, financial advisors and investors need to consider longevity risk alongside market risk to determine the savings needed to generate the income wanted through retirement," said Rob Kapito, President of BlackRock. "iRetire helps to solve this problem, letting investors clearly see their prospects and make well informed decisions about how much to save, when to retire and how much to spend, in order to maintain the income they want."

Moving from Problem to Plan

Advisors using iRetire start the conversation by simply inputting the client's age, current retirement savings and desired annual retirement income. Within seconds clients will see an estimate of how much their current savings could provide each year in retirement. Advisors can then adjust a number of levers – retirement age, savings and portfolio risk – to demonstrate immediately how actions such as saving more or working longer could help close a client's retirement income gap.

Based on the client's input, an Advisor can use iRetire to offer a range of potential portfolios designed for effective allocation of retirement assets, either to help close a prospective income gap or to stay on track toward a retirement income goal.

"The way people prepare for retirement is clearly broken – and iRetire reflects BlackRock's commitment to help reframe the retirement problem and solve it in a whole new way using the best of our technology and expertise," said Frank Porcelli, Chairman of BlackRock's US Wealth Advisory Business. "Millions of investors are not even aware that the nest egg they've been counting on won't get them through today's longer retirements. So we've created a new system that allows financial advisors, within minutes, to shift the focus to the number that really matters – the income investors want each year in retirement – and help them take action to close the gap."

Helping Advisors Keep Their Clients on Track Through Regular Checkups

To help advisors keep their clients on track to and through retirement, iRetire can be used for continuing consultations through regular checkups. These checkups allow for adjustments in the suggested client portfolios based on changes in the cost of future retirement income and the level of savings clients actually accumulate. And, because iRetire provides a mechanism for assessing retirement income preparedness based on assets the financial advisor currently oversees in addition to assets held elsewhere, it can help make the case for consolidating the assets under an income-focused strategy.

"We hear from advisors regularly that retirement is the number one issue they are tackling, and that they need new tools to help them better manage their clients' portfolios over the long term," added Porcelli. "iRetire is an innovative answer to that demand, and we will continue to invest in technology platforms that improve the advisor/client experience and package the resources advisors need to manage their practices."

About BlackRock

BlackRock is a global leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients. At September 30, 2015, BlackRock's AUM was $4.506 trillion. BlackRock helps clients around the world meet their goals and overcome challenges with a range of products that include separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares® (exchange-traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions®. As of September 30, 2015, the firm had approximately 12,900 employees in more than 30 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.blackrock.com | Twitter: @blackrock_news | Blog: www.blackrockblog.com | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock

¹ Hypothetical example based on an individual aged 55 today. The estimated annual retirement income is based on the CoRI Retirement Index 2025 level as of 10/20/15. CoRI Retirement Index levels are updated daily and are subject to change over time. Retirement is assumed to begin at age 65. CoRI Retirement Indexes ("CoRI Indexes") are a series of real-time, age-based indexes designed to help Americans measure retirement readiness and plan for future income goals. Each CoRI Index provides a daily "level" that can be used to estimate, as early as 10 years before retirement, how much annual lifetime retirement income an individual's current retirement savings could generate. For more information, go to http://www.blackrock.com/cori/what-is-cori.

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