Face Retirement, a new Bank of America/Merrill Edge (Merrill Lynch’s online discount unit) app has borrowed a trick from plastic surgeons. The app aims to show young people how they will look when it’s time to retire—wrinkles, warts, and all.
And it’s usually not pretty, but that’s what makes this app so effective.
A 2012 Merrill survey found that about half of pre-retirees have saved less than $250,000 and now will be unable to retire as originally planned.
Enter Face Retirement. Now 20- to 30-somethings can see what they will look like when they hit retirement age, and it may encourage them to take it more seriously – and start saving STAT. Next to the digitally enhanced photos, users will also be treated to the expected prices for milk, bread, gas, utilities, and other necessities when they have left the workforce. In the bottom right-hand corner, Bank of America makes the case for a Merrill Edge IRA.
“Our goal is to engage those 18 to 34 who have not yet started thinking about retirement and get them engaged as soon as possible,” says Alok Prasad, head of Merrill Edge in an interview with US News and World Report.
