One screen, clearer decisions: Rethinking the participant experience
While commuting to work the other day, I had an “aha” moment as I looked at my SUV’s dashboard. On the screen was a curated, personalized view: directions guiding me, a podcast playing, and an app tracking my son’s blood sugar with real-time updates. All these things were working together in one place. No switching. No searching. Just everything I needed, right in front of me.
I caught myself thinking, “This is what a truly integrated experience feels like.”
Reimagining the financial management process
Midyear is a natural financial checkpoint when participants step back and ask, “Am I on track? Am I saving enough? Should I make a change?” Too often, these answers are hard to find because financial information is spread across multiple tools, accounts, and pages.
We’re focused on making that process easier. Because for plan sponsors, these moments matter most when they lead to action by encouraging participants to stay on track, increase contributions, and make informed decisions.
Streamlining the participant dashboard
This is where the impact comes to life.
Amplifying participant support across our digital ecosystem
We’re also expanding that impact. After all, financial wellness is more than a single midyear check-up. As participants’ priorities and needs change and as technology evolves, we’re right there at the forefront of both to support participants on their ongoing financial journeys.
That’s why we’re further broadening our digital ecosystem to deliver intuitive, customizable experiences at every stage of a participant’s progress toward financial well-being.
Here’s where Vanguard AI Assistant, our conversational digital interface, comes into play. With the assistant, participants will use plain language to ask questions and then quickly get answers and connect with resources. The interaction will feel familiar, much like the way they use technology in their everyday lives. Our Retirement Withdrawal Coach and Financial Wellness Assessment will be the first tools with this flexible, easy-to-use capability—with more to come through a continuous rollout.
Turning small steps into big outcomes
When ease of use meets strong plan design, engagement becomes action. In the past year, 86% of participants engaged with or took a positive action in their plan.1 They took steps like boosting their contributions or adjusting their saving approaches, building momentum toward stronger long-term outcomes.
At the end of the day, it’s not about having more information. It’s about delivering information that meets participants where they are—tailored to their financial pictures and levels of understanding—and motivates them to act.
That’s the experience we’re building: one that helps turn everyday moments into meaningful progress.
Related links
Source
1 Vanguard, as of April 30, 2026.
Notes
All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.
Dina Caggiula is the head of Participant Experience at Vanguard, where she oversees the organization responsible for evolving the digital experience and helping our 5 million participants achieve retirement readiness and financial well-being. She has domain experience in designing strategies to deliver education, guidance, and advice to institutional investors. Most recently, she supported the formation of a strategic partnership between Vanguard and global technology leader Infosys to modernize their recordkeeping platform and disrupt the recordkeeping industry. Dina previously held the role of department head for Advice and Wellness, where she expanded the Vanguard Personal Advisor® offer to 401(k) participants for the first time. She was also the department head for Education Services and Support, which delivers retirement education to Vanguard’s institutional participants. She earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and an M.B.A. from Saint Joseph’s University and serves on the university’s advisory board for the Pedro Arrupe Center for Business Ethics. She holds FINRA Series 7, 24, 65, and 63 licenses.
