Vestwell Announces Strategic Partnership with TIAA to Expand Access to Guaranteed Retirement Income

NEW YORK, September 4, 2024—Vestwell, a leading holistic savings platform, announced today a partnership with TIAA to help improve retirement savings and retirement outcomes for smaller employers. Following a strategic investment from TIAA Ventures as part of Vestwell’s Series D at the end of 2023, the agreement will launch a TIAA lifetime income offering on the Vestwell platform in 2025.

"Addressing retirees' financial security is an essential component of evaluating modern solutions to close the savings gap," said Aaron Schumm, Founder and CEO of Vestwell. "We are proud to work with TIAA, a company that shares our commitment to expanding access to industry-leading saving and retirement solutions, including guaranteed lifetime income, through the workplace."

"Since 1918, we’ve championed a singular belief: A secure retirement should be available to everyone," said Wayne Baker, chief investment officer, TIAA Ventures. "Our agreement with Vestwell will allow us to further expand access to our lifetime income programs to workers who have historically not had access to guaranteed income in retirement."

According to the Alliance for Lifetime Income, fifty-one percent of consumers between ages of 45 and 75 feel they need more retirement savings to last their lifetime. The TIAA Secure Income Account (SIA), a guaranteed lifetime income solution, will be available through target-date structures available to 401(k) and 403(b) plans on the Vestwell platform. The solution will be available to all Vestwell partners and supported by TIAA and Vestwell. The SIA offers guaranteed interest while participants save for retirement and a pension-like retirement income to help cover everyday living costs for retirees. Amounts saved in the SIA are protected even in the most volatile markets to support the security of users' plans for life.

"With the original SECURE Act in 2019 removing barriers to offering lifetime income solutions in 401(k) plans, we are seeing a greater appetite from advisors and employers of all sizes to offer retirement income plans with annuities as a core component," said Colbert Narcisse, chief product and business development officer at TIAA. "Electing lifetime income can offer employees a sense of security, with the assurance they will have guaranteed income through retirement."

The news follows Vestwell’s partnership expansion with J.P. Morgan Asset Management to jointly distribute Everyday 401(k), J.P. Morgan’s workplace savings platform. The company has also powered the launch of several new state savings programs, including Delaware EARNS and New Jersey’s RetireReady NJ. Through leading partnerships, Vestwell continues to expand its holistic savings offerings and bridge the access gap for savers across the county.

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About Vestwell

Vestwell is a leading holistic savings platform. Founded in 2016, the New York City-based fintech company is transforming access to essential financial wellness and savings programs to close the American savings gap. As an extension of its partners, Vestwell enables a suite of programs, including retirement, health, and education, such as 401(k), 403(b), IRA, 529 College, ABLE disability, and Emergency Savings programs. Today, Vestwell enables over 350,000 businesses and well over a million active savers, with over $30 billion in assets saved in all 50 states. To learn more, visit vestwell.com.

Media Contact: Nicole Wood, Communications Director: nicole.wood@vestwell.com.

About TIAA

TIAA is a leading provider of secure retirements and outcome-focused investment solutions to millions of people and thousands of institutions. It is the #1 not-for-profit retirement market provider, paid more than $5.6 billion in lifetime income to retired clients in 2022 and has $1.3 trillion in assets under management (as of 6/30/2024).