Bank of America Merrill Lynch has launched a retirement service that combines Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Bank of America operations.

The Comprehensive Retirement Income Management Solution has been integrated with Bank of America’s My Retirement Income service and its proprietary investment framework.

The joint operation means that Merrill clients will be able to periodically transfer funds, set aside to provide retirement income, into a BoA deposit account from their cash management accounts.

"We recognise and are uniquely positioned to address the diverse retirement challenges that our clients face today.  My Retirement Income is the latest demonstration of how the combination of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch offers our clients greater resources and solutions to help them pursue their retirement goals,” said Sallie Krawcheck, president of Bank of America Global Wealth & Investment Management.

In a Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management survey of affluent Americans, 50 per cent had concerns about the current state of their retirement plan, citing "knowing how much I will need to retire" and "knowing whether or not I will be able to live comfortably in retirement" as urgent concerns.

Alongside the venture with BoA, Merrill Lynch has also launched the Retirement Income Framework, designed to accommodate short term changes in situation and investment needs. It will divide assets into three distinct portfolios using excess savings to build up legacies.