New AI Retirement Planning Tool Aims to Transform How Americans View Their Futures

In a bid to reframe how Americans engage with retirement planning, UCLA Professor Emeritus and retirement industry innovator Shlomo Benartzi is preparing to test a new digital tool using artificial intelligence that uses visualization to inspire people to plan for retirement; he presented the  tool to an audience of advisers at the PLANADVISER 360 conference on Tuesday.

Designed to boost optimism and engagement, the AI-driven tool invites users to imagine their ideal retirement and then generates a visual representation of it, replacing traditional fear-based financial warnings with personalized, positive visions.

“Instead of warning people they’ll face a bleak retirement if they don’t save enough, we’re encouraging them to visualize the life they want,” he explained during the presentation. “By flipping the conversation from negative to positive, we’re trying to give people hope and optimism.”

The tool, set for a trial with 300,000 participants in two weeks, uses visualization techniques to prompt users to describe their ideal retirement scenario. Benartzi demonstrated the concept with plan adviser George Fraser, who shared his own retirement dream of spending time on a boat with his family, relaxing on the beach and enjoying seafood. Fraser is senior partner of the Fraser Group, a BCG company owned by the Alera Group. Benartzi and he have collaborated on projects in the past.

Benartzi said his visualization tool integrates the work of Professor Hal Hershfield, an artist whose illustrations aim to bridge the gap between users’ current financial situations and their aspirations. Benartzi believes this more human-centered approach can make a real impact in the retirement planning industry.

“Rather than focusing on fear, we’re helping people see a path to the life they want,” he explained.

The pilot will test if this approach can meaningfully shift participants’ engagement and actions around retirement, potentially marking a major shift in the financial services industry toward hope-based planning.

Fraser highlighted the importance of optimism in retirement by sharing a story about a client who was initially fearful about his financial future. After suffering through life-altering setbacks, this person faced retirement with just $400 a month in discretionary income, leading him to feel embarrassed and anxious.

But Fraser guided him to imagine a fulfilling retirement: spending time on his boat and supplementing his income by taking others on boat tours through a rental platform.

By showing Sean how to generate extra income in a way that aligned with his dreams, Fraser said, “His life had changed in his eyes.”

Prompt: “I’d like to go fly fishing in Montana and spend quality time with my family.”
Source: The Retirement Visualizer, created by Shlomo Benartzi, Dan Goldstein, Hal Hershfield and Joseph Rieff.