A premier American asset management firm with over $1.6 trillion under management and 90 years of retirement leadership.
Lead UX Designer and the sole T. Rowe Price designer on the project, responsible for end-to-end design strategy and execution of the first online retirement distribution experience — delivered from concept to launch in four months.
I established the research foundation through journey workshops, stakeholder interviews, and synthesis of operational data and customer feedback with cross-functional partners. From there, I led ideation, design execution, and user testing — partnering closely with product and engineering to define scope, align on priorities, and deliver the MVP.
I also extended the impact beyond the project by publishing research insights across the organization and creating an ideation workshop playbook to support other innovation teams.
Participants leaving their employers needed to decide whether to keep their savings in the plan, roll them into a new employer plan or IRA, or take a taxable cash distribution. While many were focused on moving their money quickly, they often did not fully understand the tax consequences and long-term impact of their choices.
The existing process relied on paper forms, phone calls, and manual back-office handling, costing T. Rowe Price approximately $14 million annually. Customer service representatives attempted to persuade participants to retain their assets during distribution calls, but these conversations rarely changed behavior because most had already made their decision before contacting the company.
The opportunity was to engage participants earlier in their decision process through a digital self-service experience that simplified complex transactions, reduced operational costs, improved customer satisfaction, and created a more positive brand experience—even when assets were transferred out of the firm.
The MVP focused on terminated participants — representing 60% of distribution costs — to maximize impact while validating the model.
The redesigned distribution experience was built around a single principle: meet users where they are — informed, determined, and deserving of clarity at every step.
The solution resolves into two connected experiences: a Distribution Center that supports decision-making before the transaction, and a transaction flow that enables fast, confident execution. Together, these experiences shift distribution from a transactional flow into a decision-support system.
The Distribution Center serves as the informed entry point — giving users the context they need to make a confident decision before entering the transaction.
Once a decision is made, the experience gets out of the way.
The transaction flow follows a familiar, checkout-style model — guided, and transparent. A unified transaction structure allows users to review and modify inputs at any step, balancing guidance with control. Users can see their progress, review and edit inputs at any step, and move forward with confidence. Distribution options include check or direct deposit, supported by secure bank linking and validation to ensure accuracy before submission.
The experience extends beyond submission to remove uncertainty during fulfillment.
A confirmation page provides a clear timeline for the 1–2 week process and a progress indicator showing remaining steps — giving users visibility into what’s happening and what comes next. This transforms an otherwise opaque waiting period into one that feels finite, trackable, and predictable.
The distribution MVP launched on time and validated the model — users engaged independently, and the business saw immediate operational impact.
The Distribution Center drew strong early engagement, with users not only completing transactions but actively exploring their options — confirming the value of an informed entry point. Within days of launch, ~18% of traffic originated from mobile, validating cross-device usage for high-consideration financial decisions.
Great financial experiences do more than enable transactions—they help people understand the consequences of their decisions.
This project reinforced that users facing complex financial choices often need context and clarity as much as they need efficient execution. By surfacing retirement progress, trade-offs, and alternatives before a withdrawal, the experience supported better decisions while respecting users’ autonomy.
It also demonstrated how design can align customer outcomes with business goals. The Distribution Center helped participants preserve tax-advantaged savings while creating opportunities to retain assets within T. Rowe Price through IRA rollovers.
Most importantly, the project showed that simplifying high-stakes workflows can deliver meaningful impact across customer experience, operational efficiency, and business performance simultaneously.
