Designing the future of retirement
Why this work matters
TIAA asked me to re-imagine the entire retirement journey "from cradle to grave," pinpointing where the firm can proactively and reactively keep participants and their assets inside the TIAA ecosystem. Our north-star business goals were to lift net contributions by 15% and cut retiree attrition by more than 30%, while giving leadership a clear 3 to 5 year strategic roadmap.
My Role
Extract behavioral patterns from research
Surfaced “critical money moments” where participants most often leave or stay.Facilitate stakeholder workshops across functions
Orchestrated “Retirement Studio” sprints across strategy, product, call center, and compliance areas to co-design future journeys and policy-safe AI touchpoints.Independently scope Service Design activities & deliverables
Built a phased plan (discover, co-create, prototype, roadmap) with views ranging from 50,000-foot ecosystem strategy to UX flows.Design high-fidelity service maps & prototypes
Created a stakeholder map, lifecycle journey, service blueprint, of an AI-powered “Digital Advisor.”Apply strong business & financial-services acumen
Quantified revenue lift for each concept, linked them to NPV, and prioritized using an Impact vs. Effort matrix.Communicate strategy & build product roadmaps
Delivered a strategic narrative to the EVP of Wealth with a staged rollout and KPI framework for FY25 through FY27.
What I Did
1. Deep Insight Work
Identified emotional and life-stage triggers that predict participant exits
Translated findings into Guiding Design Principles used by all retirement squads
2. Co-Design & Workshop Facilitation
Led Miro sessions to cluster pain points and create service guardrails
Used lightning-decision jams to rapidly conceptualize new service designs
3. Service Mapping & Prototyping
Journey Map: Eight life stages and 60+ sub-scenarios
Service Blueprint: Front-stage, back-stage, tech, and policy layers
Prototype Development: “Digital Advisor” product
Ecosystem Map: Visualized advisor, payroll, and sponsor nodes to uncover leverage
Tools & Methods
Figma, Miro, Adobe CC, Illustrator
Jobs-to-Be-Done, Service Blueprinting, Systems Thinking, Story Mapping, AI Design
Impact
15% projected lift in net contributions
More than 30% anticipated reduction in predicted participant departures
Shared strategic foundation for leadership using personas, maps, and KPIs
