RetirementAnswers.com to Connect Pre-retirees and Retirees with Financial Advisors

    COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, December 03, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- One man's family tragedy may have made life easier for legions of retired and soon-to-be-retired Americans. Former marketer to the stars of the financial planning world, Mickey O'Neill, has flipped the game. Where he once developed marketing outreach for elite financial advisors, he is now putting the consumer in charge.

RetirementAnswers.com allows individuals with retirement planning questions to find local, qualified, professionals as easily as finding a Starbucks. But why would O'Neill step away from serving top tier financial types?

"In the spring of 2013, my wife's sister died without a will," O'Neill said. "My wife was assigned administrator of the estate and began digging into the IRAs, 401(k)s, insurance, pension, real estate and other property liquidation challenges. She was having trouble finding local, qualified help, but I knew I'd be able to help. After all, I had connections everywhere."

Then things got complicated. 1,400 miles away, Mickey's mother had a health crisis, and for the next 90 days, he was disconnected from his wife, who was now struggling to handle her sister's estate alone.

"That's when it hit me," he said."The internet has information, but to get answers, you need real people. If you can find everything else online, why not retirement advisors?"

Now you can. At RetirementAnswers.com you'll find articles, videos, a glossary of the most important terms, and op-eds by O'Neill and others. Using not much more than a zip code, "Learners," O'Neill's term for consumers, can connect personally with one or more "Mentors," his term for retirement professionals, in their own area. In addition, Learners can submit questions to Mentors anonymously.

But that's only part of what makes Retirement Answers different.

"Every site I found was owned by companies that want to sell you their product," he said."So you'll see whatever information supports that sale. We're different. Our site is an 'open ecology,' exposing the Learner to as many options as possible."

So consumers can learn all they like at their own pace, not be inundated by emails, and when the time is right, they can connect with local advisors anonymously and control the process.

"In that way, it's like a dating site," he said."You get to see everything about the advisor, but all they see is your username and case information. Once you've exchanged a few messages on our closed system (think "personal messaging" on Facebook) you can decide which Mentor you want to work with, if any. You are totally in charge."

Who qualifies to become a Mentor?

"On the face of it, it's simple," he said."Go to the site, click on the 'For Mentors' tab, and you're on your way. Of course I check backgrounds and do my best to determine whether you're the kind of person who wants to serve people, or just your own bank account."

Could this be the future of retirement planning? Time will tell. But against a backdrop of corporate-owned offerings, it is refreshing to see at least one consumer-oriented, person-to-person option.

To learn more, go to RetirementAnswers.com.

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