Bank of America Merrill Lynch Introduces 401(k) Enhancements to Meet the Evolving Needs of Employers and Employees

Bank of America Merrill Lynch today announced a series of enhancements to its 401(k) and other financial benefit plan programs. Through new and expanded capabilities, employers can design benefit plan programs that offer the flexibility to grow and change with the needs of their business, and that can deliver greater value to their employees. Several key product and service capabilities available today and being introduced in the coming months include:

• Benefits OnLine® Mobile – New mobile capabilities will give employees on-the-go access to financial benefit plan account information, advice and important alerts.
• Employee Financial Services – A new program that provides plan participants access to a broader range of financial solutions that can help them meet near- and long-term goals.
• Expanded Investment Menu – HR and benefits professionals can design retirement benefit plans that meet unique and often changing objectives on our open investment architecture.
• DB Discretionary Services – Our portfolio strategists offer complete consultative and co-fiduciary investment management services to defined benefit plan sponsors.
• Plan Sponsor Solutions – This newly formed team of benefit plan professionals can assist plan sponsors with the design and seamless integration of defined contribution, defined benefit, equity and non-qualified deferred compensation plans available on our platform to allow for greater efficiencies.

“Benefit plans are playing an increasingly significant role in the financial lives of employees,” Andy Sieg, head of Global Wealth and Retirement Solutions for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “We are leading the charge in this industry to provide innovative solutions that meet the needs of employers and their employees, who today expect more from these plans.”

According to our June 2011 Workplace Benefits Report survey of C-level executives and HR professionals, with the uncertainty surrounding the future of Social Security and other traditional retirement safety nets, employers believe workers will become increasingly reliant on workplace benefit plans to help them reach financial goals. Based on these findings, it is not surprising that during the next two years more than half of employers surveyed intend to improve their current plans – from 401(k), defined benefit and equity plans to health savings accounts – citing the need to keep up with employee expectations and the crucial role these plans play in the recruitment and retention of top talent.

Personalized advice, comprehensive solutions

According to the survey, 79 percent of employers anticipate greater demand from employees for access to professional saving and investing advice surrounding their benefit plans. Offering financial solutions that go beyond retirement planning, along with access to personalized financial advice and education and the ability to choose how and through what channels employees engage with it, can empower them to take greater control of their financial lives. This has also proven to increase ongoing employee utilization of and appreciation for these plans. In this regard, we are introducing Benefits OnLine Mobile and Employee Financial Services.

• Benefits OnLine Mobile – Benefits OnLine, our award-winning1 financial benefit plan platform, will soon be available to plan participants through their mobile devices. Later this year, plan sponsors can begin offering 401(k) and other benefit plan participants mobile access to balances and other account information, along with important messages and timely alerts about how to they can maximize their benefits. Next year, participants will also be able to use our Advice Access service to review retirement income projections, as well as transfer funds all through a mobile device. Advice Access offers professional saving and investment advice within more than 400 corporate benefit plan programs and to more than one million plan participants, tailored to their life stage and personal situation. This advice service is delivered online, over the phone and in person.
• Employee Financial Services – Since the economic downturn, 59 percent of employers feel a greater responsibility to help employees meet their broader financial goals and needs, according to our survey. For employers who wish to deliver greater value to and more effectively address the overall financial fitness of their workforce, we are rolling out Employee Financial Services. Through this new program, employees will have the opportunity to tap into the full capabilities of Bank of America with access to financial solutions, tools and educational resources that help with budgeting, paying for college, managing debt, estate planning services and more through a variety of service channels. Dozens of employers have adopted this program this year through a phased rollout that will be expanded throughout 2012.

“We work closely with thousands of companies to help ensure that their demographically diverse workforces are getting the most value from their financial benefits,” said Kevin Crain, head of Institutional Retirement and Benefit Services for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “This includes access to professional advice and more comprehensive solutions that can put employees in a better position to achieve financial wellness at every life stage.”

True investment choice and oversight

In the current environment and for the foreseeable future, plan sponsors should consider a relationship with a provider that gives them the flexibility to design an investment menu that can be adjusted to keep up with or ahead of the evolving needs of their business and their employees.

• Expanded Investment Menu – Through our open architecture, we offer plan sponsors greater flexibility and true choice when designing a retirement plan investment menu that meets their unique objectives. As of September 30, 2011 this includes an expanded menu of more than 4,700 investment options through relationships with more than 130 investment managers. These options now include multiple non-proprietary stable value funds and target date funds, separately managed accounts and a broad range of passive and actively managed commingled trusts.
  
  For employers who wish to give their employees even greater investment choice, Bank of America Merrill Lynch also offers a self-directed brokerage account through which plan participants may choose to invest all or a portion of their portfolio on their own or through a Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor.

• DB Discretionary Services – Defined benefit (DB) plans continue to play a key role in integrated benefit programs and can help companies differentiate benefit packages during talent recruitment. In addition to DB investment advisory services, plan administration and pension payroll capabilities, Bank of America Merrill Lynch also provides discretionary pension management services including asset liability modeling, strategic and tactical asset allocation and portfolio management. Our professional portfolio strategists provide consultative and co-fiduciary investment management support that helps employers more effectively manage pension liability risks.

Benefit plan professionals

To help ensure plans are more successful and deliver maximum value to employees, employers are also seeking relationships with proven benefit plan professionals. From design and execution to ongoing relationship management, our plan sponsor clients and plan participants receive the highest level of service and support through a client-driven combination of dedicated Merrill Lynch Financial Advisors, retirement client representatives, and our new Plan Sponsor Solutions team. We also give plan sponsors the flexibility to choose how they engage with these teams of professionals.

• Designated Financial Advisors – Through an assessment of service experience and product knowledge, Merrill Lynch Financial Advisors earn specialized designations to serve plan sponsors’ benefit plan needs, backed by a dedicated team of specialists. In the near future, a select group of these financial advisors will also begin offering defined contribution investment consulting services to help plan sponsors further mitigate fiduciary risk within their 401(k) plans.
  
  In addition, this summer a group of our Defined Contribution (DC) Designated financial advisors were among the first in the industry to attend The Retirement Advisor University (TRAU™). Through its partnership with the UCLA Anderson School of Management, TRAU is the first retirement-focused certification program for financial advisors associated with an institution of higher learning. Through the program, financial advisors gain additional knowledge and skills needed to best serve the needs of plan sponsors and their plan participants.

• Plan Sponsor Solutions – Our new Plan Sponsor Solutions team helps ensure clients experience simplicity and convenience from plan conception and design to proactive consulting and ongoing investment due diligence. This specialized team helps seamlessly integrate defined contribution, defined benefit, equity and non-qualified deferred compensation plans available on our platform to allow for greater efficiencies. When integrating plans with a single provider, employers can make it easier for employees to see an aggregate view of their assets and investments across plans and to determine how these and other assets translate into retirement income.

Financial benefit plan participants are also supported by a team of registered phone representatives2 in our dedicated Retirement Contact Centers. These registered representatives are qualified to offer assistance on a wide range of financial benefit plans and solutions, from 401(k) plans to health savings accounts, and are a key reason why our contact centers have been recognized by J.D. Power and Associates for providing an “Outstanding Customer Service Experience” seven years running (2005 – 2011)3.

“Many employers today are dealing with the complexity of managing benefit plan platforms from multiple providers, along with increased scrutiny from public and industry officials,” added Crain. “Our specialized teams of professionals provide guidance that can give employers greater assurance that their financial benefit plans meet their objectives and industry standards, and exceed employee expectations.”

1 Benefits OnLine received the 2010 DALBAR Web Seal of Excellence. DALBAR examined 45 websites tailored to Defined Contribution plan participants. Scores were based on the quality and range of capabilities and content provided, ease of navigation and ability to locate information. Consideration of a website for the DALBAR Communications Seal includes a rigorous examination and scoring of the site, as well as a comparison of its offerings and overall usability to the retirement and benefit plan industry. Websites are evaluated based on five factors, including: DALBAR designation, functionality, usability, appeal and number of errors. DALBAR, Inc. is not an affiliate of Bank of America Corporation.

2 Bank of America Merrill Lynch registered phone representatives in our dedicated Retirement Contact Centers have FINRA Series 7 and Series 66 licenses.

3 Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Retirement & Benefits Contact Center has been recognized by J.D. Power and Associates for providing “An Outstanding Customer Service Experience,” for seven years in a row (2005–2011). The Call Center Certification Program focuses on critical areas of customer satisfaction by rewarding best practices that are aligned with customer needs. For certification status, a call center operation must pass a detailed audit and perform with the top 20 percent of customer service, based on J.D. Power and Associates’ cross industry customer satisfaction research. Certification is valid for one year. For J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Call Center Certification Program information, visit www.jdpower.com.

J.D. Power and Associates is not an affiliate of Bank of America Corporation.

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All data as of June 30, 2011 unless otherwise noted.

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Bank of America Merrill Lynch is a marketing name for the Retirement Services business of Bank of America Corporation (BAC). Banking and fiduciary activities are performed by wholly owned banking affiliates of BAC, including Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC. Brokerage services are performed by wholly owned brokerage affiliates of BAC, including Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (MLPF&S), a registered broker-dealer and Member SIPC.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of investment options carefully before investing. This, and additional information about the investment options, can be found in the prospectuses and, if available, the summary prospectuses which can be obtained by calling a Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor. Investors should read the prospectuses and, if available, the summary prospectuses carefully before investing.

For the discretionary defined benefit service, Bank of America, N.A. will act as a fiduciary in providing investment services and will manage plan assets consistent with the duties and standards established under ERISA, including its oversight of any third-party investment managers.

Merrill Lynch and its representatives do not provide investment advice to plan sponsors. Investment advice is provided to plan participants solely through the Advice Access service.

The Advice Access service uses a probabilistic approach to determine the likelihood that participants in the service may be able to achieve their stated goals and/or to identify a range of potential wealth outcomes that could be realized. Additionally, the recommendations provided by Advice Access do not consider an individual's comfort level with investment risk, and may include a higher level of investment risk than a participant may be personally comfortable with. Participants are strongly advised to consider their personal goals, overall risk tolerance, and retirement horizon before accepting any recommendations made by Advice Access. Participants should carefully review the explanation of the methodology used, including key assumptions and limitations, which is provided in the Advice Access disclosure statement. It can be obtained through Benefits OnLine or through your Bank of America Merrill Lynch representative.

IMPORTANT: The projections or other information shown in the Advice Access service regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results and are not guarantees of future results. Results may vary with each use and over time.

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