"I want to be careful not to call it a product or a service. It’s an approach,” said David Tyrie, head of Personal Wealth and Retirement at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, in describing Merrill Lynch Clear, a new communication strategy aimed at Boomers.

This story includes a handy chart that can help you compare the features of the deferred income annuity contracts currently offered by eleven U.S. life insurers. MetLife’s is the newest and most flexible.

Virtually all American retirees already own a pension that's more generous than any retail annuity could ever be: their Social Security benefits. But how much does the entitlement "crowd out" demand for retail annuities? The answers may surprise you.