Inspiring participants to take positive financial actions
2 minutes
Retirement is complex, and it is different from person to person. We believe there are key opportunity areas, whether they are milestones or life events, where Vanguard is ideally suited to help nudge your employees to take positive steps toward their financial wellness and their vision of an ideal retirement.
Every time they interact with us, we call them moments that matter, and they drive all the solutions we deliver across all our channels of interaction with your employees. That includes plan design, communication campaigns, meetings, and our web experiences.
What is a moment that matters? It is the big moments, like a new job, or for our purposes, someone new to your plan, a marriage, or an upcoming retirement. It is also the small ones, like the moment when a person logs on to check their balance.
Whether someone is just starting out or about to retire, Vanguard has a system in place that combines artificial intelligence and data with theories of behavioral finance to meet employees in those moments that matter. As a result, they can manage their day-to-day financial concerns while still saving for the future and, eventually, most effectively draw down the large nest egg they have accumulated.
No two employees are alike, which means no two experiences are alike. The engine that drives personalization leverages the data of nearly 5 million participants and 35 million data points to deliver daily, effective guidance and personalized coaching and education. The tone, messaging, technique, and imagery are selected based on how the recipient has responded in the past. It is always the right message at the right time, which makes for an experience that seamlessly guides your employees from one financial decision to the next.
Finances can be hard. See how we can make financial decisions a little easier.
Powerful retirement tools that empower participants
1 minute 46 seconds
At Vanguard, the heart of our innovation is rooted in one simple goal. Make lives better. For participants preparing to retire, we're focused on making the financial transition less overwhelming. That's why we created Vanguard AI Assistant. This conversational interface uses advanced technology to help participants more easily decide how and when they'll retire. Users can ask questions like, "What will my monthly income be in retirement?" or "How long will my money last?" The AI assistant responds in plain language using tailored projections from the retirement withdrawal coach. It answers follow-up questions and suggests ways to improve spending and saving strategies. Participants also receive educational resources and clear next steps such as setting up retirement paychecks. Now they can make more informed retirement income decisions so Win can confirm she's ready to hit the road with her buddy Champ. And this is just the beginning. Soon, Vanguard AI Assistant will be able to support people at other stages of their financial wellness journeys. It will give Frank the information he needs to create a plan for tackling his debt. It'll also show Jenna how to build emergency savings that help her protect her financial goals. Vanguard AI Assistant helps bring clarity and confidence to financial planning because participants should be prepared for every one of life's chapters.
Experience innovation at work: Real-time, conversational guidance that helps drive participant outcomes
See how we're using emerging technology to make retirement planning easier. Vanguard AI Assistant delivers real-time, conversational answers and actionable next steps. Our new tool helps participants feel confident while increasing plan engagement and satisfaction.
1 minute 22 seconds
We are all making progress on our financial and retirement goals.
When your employees are close to maxing out their retirement savings, many wonder about their next move.
For those asking that very question, Vanguard introduces the next innovation in financial well-being: Retirement Savings Maximizer.
This simple, interactive online guide walks you and your employees through a tax-advantaged savings hierarchy.
It provides education and guidance, laying out the next move for your money to help maximize tax advantages and investment savings, no matter where you are in your retirement journey.
So whether you're building wealth, managing multiple goals, or preparing for retirement, Vanguard's Retirement Savings Maximizer can help you and your employees take advantage of every option to put retirement within reach.
Retirement Savings Maximizer is one of the first tools of its kind. It's free and easy to use.
It answers complex questions, takes the burden of educating participants off you, the plan sponsor, and represents what's next in financial well-being.
Retirement Savings Maximizer: It’s what’s next in financial well-being
Retirement Savings Maximizer is the first tool of its kind to help plan participants maximize their savings in the most tax-advantaged way. It also provides education, making it easy to understand and take next steps.
See how we support participants no matter where they are in their retirement journey
1 minute 47 seconds
I'd like to introduce you to Carmela. She's 34 years old and has been at the company a little over a year. She recently bought a condo. Between her student loan payments and the debt she's accumulated buying new condo furniture, finances are tight.
Behind the scenes, your senior communication consultant has met with your benefits team. From that close collaboration, we've learned that a good portion of younger staff are carrying a lot of debt and are unsure where to turn for help.
The team puts together a custom campaign targeting Carmela and others like her. That campaign leads Carmela to our website, where she takes our financial well-being assessment.
The assessment directs Carmela to focus on paying off the high-interest debt she accumulated from buying furniture to make her very first house feel like a home. She uses the Debt Pay Down Strategy tool to aggregate her outside accounts and receives a personalized debt paydown plan to quickly pay off her three credit cards and her car loan, saving her thousands of dollars in interest payments over the long run.
Fast forward, and Carmela is credit card debt-free. She is also now a manager and earning a higher salary. During a one-on-one, the Vanguard retirement education coach points her to the Contribution Maximizer tool on our site to make sure she is spreading out her contributions over the year to take full advantage of the company match over the course of her career.
No matter how Carmela decides to engage with Vanguard or which device she chooses, the experience is seamless. As a result, Carmela and participants like her feel confident, valued, and inspired on their journey toward financial well-being and a secure retirement.
We’re committed to evolving our solutions in ways that give clients flexibility and confidence for the future.
Because retirement security isn’t just a product, it’s a promise. At Vanguard, that promise drives everything we do.
Solutions for early-career participants
Carmella is a decade into her career, juggling student loans and credit card debt. Discover how Vanguard guides her to take positive actions through personalized guidance and education.
Improving plan participant's emergency savings: Vanguard Cash Plus Account
1 minute 12 seconds
Meet Shannon. She's a working single mom to 2-year-old Jackson, 5-year-old Chloe, and one mischief-seeking dog. She's got a lot on her plate, and she's no stranger to worrying about money.
Shannon is ready to start saving smarter for emergencies with the Vanguard Cash Plus account. Her Vanguard retirement account gives her access to financial wellness education and tools, like an AI-powered savings calculator, to help her understand how much she should be saving for life’s emergencies.
From there, it was easy to complete the simple online process to set up an account. And now she can see her retirement savings and her Cash Plus balance side by side in a fully integrated experience. Shannon set up recurring deposits directly through her paycheck. She feels good knowing she's taking steps toward a more secure future for her and her family.
And now, when life throws something unexpected her way, she can use her Cash Plus balance to help cover the expense. Less stress, more confidence. Shannon can focus on what really matters. That’s a win for everyone, even Buster.
Guiding participants to prepare for emergencies
See how Cash Plus Account, our out-of-plan solution, allows all participants—regardless of compensation—to save for emergencies beyond the SECURE 2.0 emergency saving provisions. Whether it’s a small emergency, like a flat tire, or something catastrophic, like job loss, Vanguard can help your participants feel confident about their emergency savings.
How we help participants calculate health care costs in retirement
Helping those close to or in retirement feel confident about their health care costs
Planning for health care costs in retirement can be one of the biggest unknowns. Vanguard’s Health Care Cost Estimator provides a more personalized estimate of health care expenses—looking at personal factors such as health, coverage, and region—so participants can factor it into their retirement budget.
Related Topics
Sources:
1 Vanguard, as of December 31, 2025.
2 Vanguard, as of December 31, 2025.
3 Account Security Outweighs Convenience Among Retirement Plan Website and Mobile App Users, J.D. Power Finds. J.D. Power, 2025. https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2025-us-retirement-plan-digital-experience-study. The study surveyed more than 7,000 retirement plan participants between May and June 2025, measuring satisfaction in four key dimensions on a 1,000-point scale: design, system performance, tools/capabilities, and information/content.
Notes:
Some third-party institutions may not accept the Cash Plus Account routing number for transactions. If you have any issues using the routing number on a third-party website, contact the provider.
An annual account service fee, wire redemption fees, and account closure and full transfer-out fees may apply. See the Vanguard Brokerage Services commission and fee schedules for details and exclusions that may apply.
Bank Sweep program balances are held at one or more Program Banks, earn a variable rate of interest, and are not securities covered by SIPC. They are not cash balances held by Vanguard Brokerage Services (VBS), a division of Vanguard Marketing Corporation (VMC); VMC is not a bank. Balances are eligible for FDIC subject FDIC insurance to applicable limits and certain conditions. Insurance only covers failure of the Program Banks. See the Vanguard Bank Sweep Products Terms of Use and a list of participating Program Banks for more information.
The Cash Plus bank sweep program APY will vary and may change at any time.
The Vanguard Cash Plus Account is a brokerage account offered by Vanguard Brokerage Services, a division of Vanguard Marketing Corporation, member FINRA and SIPC. Under the Sweep Program, Eligible Balances swept to Program Banks are not securities: They are not covered by SIPC but are eligible for FDIC insurance, subject to applicable limits. Money market funds held in the account are not guaranteed or insured by the FDIC but are securities eligible for SIPC coverage. See the Vanguard Bank Sweep Products Terms of Use and Program Bank list for more information.
All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.