Blackrock And Microsoft To Reimagine Retirement

Firms aim to help millions of Americans with their retirement planning needs, from saving to spending

NEW YORK and REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 13, 2018 — BlackRock Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are reimagining America’s path to achieving greater financial security in retirement. Bringing together BlackRock’s investment capabilities and Microsoft’s technology strength, the two companies are jointly exploring next-generation solutions to help more people make better decisions as they work toward their financial goals in retirement.
The traditional pension system that generations of workers depended on for lifetime income has been upended, leaving millions of people with the responsibility to plan for and fund their own retirement. Today, many people are struggling with the difficult tasks of saving, investing and spending their own retirement assets. This shift in responsibility, from corporations to individuals, combined with ever-increasing life spans, has created a need to reimagine our approach to securing a sound financial future in retirement — one that is powered by innovative investment solutions and the most advanced, trusted and cutting-edge technologies.
Technology is already revolutionizing entire industries and the way people interact with everything from health care to education and transportation. And yet, retirement solutions of today have been slow to keep pace. Taking advantage of Microsoft’s cutting-edge technologies and BlackRock’s innovative investment products, the companies aim to make it easier for people to save for retirement and achieve the lifetime income they need through their employers’ workplace savings plan.
The companies are exploring the development of a new platform that helps people develop better saving and investing habits through more regular engagement with their retirement assets. This engagement will give people a clearer picture of how their contributions today will translate to their long-term retirement income. BlackRock intends to offer the platform in connection with next-generation investment products that it will design and manage. The new products from BlackRock will seek to provide a lifetime of income in retirement and would be made available to U.S. workers through their employers’ workplace savings plan.
“Today millions of Americans are struggling to achieve their financial goals for retirement,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “Together with BlackRock we will apply the power of the cloud and AI to introduce new solutions that address this important challenge and reimagine retirement planning.”
“Retirement systems worldwide are under stress, and providing financial security to retirees has become one of the most defining societal challenges of our time,” said Laurence D. Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock. “BlackRock has a tremendous responsibility to help solve this challenge, and we recognize the need to act now. Working with Microsoft will enable us to build a powerful solution for millions of hardworking Americans.”
About BlackRock
BlackRock helps investors build better financial futures. As a fiduciary to our clients, we provide the solutions they need when planning for their most important goals. As of September 30, 2018, the firm managed approximately $6.44 trillion in assets on behalf of investors worldwide. For additional information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.