Pension Management Portal
Improving pensioner participation in plan management and retirement planning by offering intuitive, goal-oriented screens and self-service features that reduce the burden on pension managers and client HR departments; helping prepare participants for a fulfilling retirement.
PricewaterhouseCoopers | 2023-2024
Simplifying Retirement Management
PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) acquired a pension management software service, Pension Live (now Pension View), to integrate into their Workforce portfolio. Though the software was unique in managing retirement data and financials, the user experience was well behind modern approaches to financial planning tools. PwC wanted to reimagine the experience for their business clients and improve participant engagement to boost service subscriptions and increase customer satisfaction.
Understanding Benefit Participant Needs
Our research focused on understanding the pension management ecosystem and how different users interact with it. We aimed to map out key role players within PwC's pension management service, while gaining deep insights into how HR representatives, benefits managers, and employees utilize the pension portal. Despite a condensed discovery timeline, we employed comprehensive research methods including heuristic evaluations, user interviews, and persona workshops to build empathy and gather actionable insights.
Self-Service
Both Plan Managers and Participants showed frustration with inability to complete actions on their own.
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Inability to create/download plan rundowns or confusion about how to do so
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Unable to run calculations for forecasting
Education
Client Plan Managers were overloaded with calls and emails from employees (participants) with inquiries regarding plans.
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Lack of understanding retirement plans (pension vs. 401k)
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Lack of retirement knowledge generally
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Lacking knowledge of how to be involved
Engagement
Participants admitted to rarely accessing the legacy portal because of difficulty locating information
Poor Mobile Experience. They expect to access their account like bank accounts and other accounts
Not knowing impact of early retirement planning
Digitization
Many actions still required physical documents that took time to send and return for signing by multiple parties.
Inability to share documents digitally
Reliance on physical documents. Sending, receiving, and signing slowed actions
Architecture
PwC required full-time tech teams to create custom pension portals for each client and manage long-term.
Large backlogs of work tickets for team
Required institutional knowledge for individual client needs
Accessibility
The legacy portal design did not account for age of those preparing for retirement and lacked tools to ease the experience for those 55 and over.
Type was "too small"
Low contrast screens
Key Findings
Discovery
Problem
Fragmented Platform Limiting Participant Engagement & Scaling Challenges
PwC's pension management platform faced two interconnected challenges that undermined its effectiveness. First, the outdated Pension Live interface created significant barriers for participants attempting to manage their retirement plans. With its cluttered design, confusing navigation paths, and hard-to-access features, users struggled to perform even basic tasks like checking account balances. Second, the platform lacked standardization across clients, requiring custom development for each implementation. This approach not only created substantial engineering backlogs but also prevented PwC from scaling the solution efficiently. Together, these issues resulted in poor user engagement, frustrated participants, and limited business growth potential.
Ideation
Identifying possible solutions
*Note: This iterative process generated new ideas and questions at each stage, often leading to additional user research and refinements of the maps and wireframes.
Workflow Mapping
User stories were created based on user prioritized needs when accessing their pension plan in the legacy portal. To coincide with the story, decision map workflows were created to define it.
Translating Data into Design
Our wireframing process began with exploratory sketches to translate research insights into initial solutions, mapping out screen architectures, information hierarchy, and key user actions. These sketches helped us explore different interface approaches before moving to digital wireframes, which provided a more refined representation for gathering stakeholder and SME feedback before proceeding with detailed design.
Architecting and Designing
After validating wireframe concepts with stakeholders and users, I moved to creating high-fidelity screen design. This phase involved creating detailed visual hierarchies and ensuring the interface adhered to accessibility standards. Working closely with developers, I established component documentation and created responsive layouts that would maintain design integrity across all device sizes.
Outcome
Mobile First Engagement
Our project research confirmed our presumption that mobile devices should be prioritized to increase user engagement with their pension management and retirement planning. By making the portal mobile-friendly, we aim to enhance user interaction and encourage active participation in managing their plans.
Prioritize Funds & Performance
Pension Participants expressed frustration with the legacy pension portal due to its slow performance and complex navigation structure. The primary pain point was difficulty in accessing basic account information, particularly balance details.
Digitize and Self-Service
A significant pain point identified for both Participants and Plan Managers was the outdated document management system. The existing process still required physical mail for sending documents and obtaining signatures, which was time-consuming and inefficient. Users expressed a strong desire for a modernized, electronic approach to document handling within the pension management system.