Consumer-oriented formula gives consumers something to give their advisors. Advisors may be able to glean some ideas from a free checklist out of Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Bancshares. It's supposed to help consumers begin the process of planning for retirement.

"The first step to devising an estate or retirement plan is to make an inventory of all of your financial documents and determine what you own and what you owe," says Kathy Houckof Huntington's Private Financial Group. "We have developed an easy-to-follow checklist to help consumers begin this formidable task that can help give them peace of mind."

Short cut

The leading edge of the 80-million strong U.S. baby-boom generation is set to start drawing on Social Security this year. But more than 20% of adult Americans have yet to begin planning for retirement and half of them haven't had wills drawn up.

Huntington suggests that users download its Checklist for Life, determine what documents are needed to begin working through the checklist, and take advantage of that fact that most of are rummaging through their personal files anyway as they get set to do their taxes to get the checklist filled in now.

With that in hand, Huntington figures that "a professional advisor will then be able to use the basic information created from the checklist to formulate a robust retirement plan."

Huntington has about 600 branches in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. It also provides select financial services in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Maryland Pennsylvania and the Carolinas. -FWR

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