LPL Financial Research Releases First Annual U.S. Retirement Index

LPL Financial LLC, the nation's largest independent broker-dealer*, a custodian for registered

investment advisors, and a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc.

(Nasdaq:LPLA), today made available its first annual Retirement Index, which ranks all 50

states and the District of Columbia on their retirement desirability for pre-retirees between the

ages of 45 and 64. It is unique in its evaluation of the pre-retirement population as well as for

evaluating more than just financial data, but other factors considered important for a successful

and happy retirement. The index ranked Virginia at the top spot, while New York landed at the

bottom. Popular retirement states Florida and Arizona ranked Nos. 37 and 43, respectively, while

less populated South Dakota and Wyoming were both positioned within the Top 5.

Other highlights from the Retirement Index:

Rounding out the top five with Virginia, are, in order, South Dakota, Minnesota,

Wyoming and Wisconsin.

The bottom five states, each with an overall F grade, include New York, New Jersey,

New Mexico, California and Arkansas.

New York was one of only two states to have three categories ranked with a grade of F,

including housing, community quality of life and financial.

It's not all bad for the Northeast though as its states received the largest concentration of

high healthcare, wellness, and employment and education grades.

Only two other Southern states join Virginia among the top 20, with Tennessee at No. 10

and Georgia at No. 16.

The LPL Financial Research Retirement Index provides a holistic look at each state's retirement

environment, measuring financial data as well as community quality of life, employment and

education, healthcare, housing and wellness. Bearing in mind the personal nature of retirement

planning, an examination of the index allows an individual to consider what matters most to him

or her, and can facilitate a discussion with a financial advisor about how best to prepare to meet

those goals.

"The insights were prepared with our proprietary analysis and provide a comprehensive view of

the factors highly considered when planning for retirement," said Anthony Valeri, senior vice

president, Research, LPL, and the study's co-author. "Academics, policymakers and advisors

increasingly recognize that retirement readiness includes not only finances, but a broad range of

economic and quality-of-life factors."

"LPL's independent research adds value to our advisors by empowering them to provide their

clients with thoughtful and expert advice," said David Reich, executive vice president and head

of Retirement Partners, LPL. "By accessing this holistic look at retirement, our advisors will be

able to create engaging and broad discussions with their clients about retirement planning and the

ways in which they can help them to work toward their life's aspirations."

From an economic development standpoint, a state's position within the index can provide

indications about the areas of improvement that a state can make to create an environment more

conducive to retirement.

*Based on total revenue, Financial Planning magazine, June 1996-2015

Index Construction and Methodology

LPL Research pulled public data sources for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The index is based on six broad categories that represent retiree desirability and help

preparedness - Financials, Healthcare, Housing, Wellness, Employment and Education,

Community Quality of Life. Within each category, 4-6 diverse subcategories provide depth and

balance. For example, the wellness category looked at obesity rates, physical activity and

percentage of smokers, to name a few. For each subcategory, each state was assigned a score

based on the state's metric in relation to the national average and the distribution of the state-

level data. The subcategory scores were then weighted to reflect relative importance and

aggregated to a final grade for each category (A-F). The broader six categories grades were also

weighted, resulting in an overall grade for each state (A-F). The weighting system was designed

such that a very negative or positive score in one particular subcategory would have a large

influence on the category grade, but a more limited influence on the overall grade. All data

evaluated the 45 to 64-year-old demographic. Find a complete explanation of the Index.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial, a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:LPLA), is a

leader in the financial advice market and serves $485 billion in retail assets. The Company

provides proprietary technology, comprehensive clearing and compliance services, practice

management programs and training, and independent research to more than 14,000 independent

financial advisors and more than 700 banks and credit unions. LPL Financial is the nation's

largest independent broker-dealer since 1996 (based on total revenue, Financial Planning

magazine, June 1996-2015), is one of the fastest growing RIA custodians with $105 billion in

retail assets served, and acts as an independent consultant to over an estimated 40,000 retirement

plans with an estimated $120 billion in retirement plan assets served, as of March 31, 2015. In

addition, LPL Financial supports approximately 4,300 financial advisors licensed with insurance

companies by providing customized clearing, advisory platforms, and technology solutions. LPL

Financial and its affiliates have 3,352 employees with primary offices in Boston, Charlotte, and

San Diego.

About LPL Financial Research

LPL Financial's research group, led by managing director and chief investment officer Burt

White, provides strategic, objective investment insights to advisors who leverage LPL Financial's

Research platforms. The group's mission is to be a trusted partner to our advisors who in turn

provide investors with choices to help meet their financial goals. The team provides those

advisors with market, investment management, portfolio construction, and due diligence advice.