Pontera is proud to partner with The Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program to define the Future of Retirement Advice. 

Pontera enables financial advisors to incorporate their clients' workplace retirement assets into holistic planning, without taking custody or accessing client credentials. Our collaboration with The Aspen Institute is a critical step in democratizing access to high-quality retirement advice.

Learn more about how Pontera democratizes access to 401(k) advice in our policy resource center.

The Aspen Institute’s Workers’ Wealth Lab is where retirement ideas become a reality. 

In November 2025, more than 100 plan sponsors, recordkeepers, policymakers, researchers, advocates, and innovators gathered to discuss the Future of Advice and other issues, resulting in the 2025 Worker’s Wealth Lab Report.

In this room, some of the most forward-thinking voices in retirement put pen to paper, forming solutions to empower 401(k) participants to have more control over their accounts.

Some critical questions were answered: 

• What stands in the way of people getting advice while still working?

• What role does data access play in holistic financial planning?

• How can we strengthen existing frameworks—like the Department of Labor’s 1996-1 Guidance—to support participants getting individual advice?

• How do service provider commercial incentives impact participant choice and control?

Retirement and financial advice is on the edge of a step-change

As workers face complex financial decisions, we can’t control where they go for help. 

Workers seek advice from multiple sources, including their employer, nonprofits, financial advisors, and the internet. No matter where workers go for help, workers need access to tools and information they need to make the right decision.

“Rapidly developing financial technology in recent decades has hinted at a future in which everyone, from low-wage workers to highly paid executives, can access high-quality, tailored financial advice, whether on appropriately diversifying their retirement savings in consideration of their entire financial portfolio or making complex “next-dollar decisions,” like how to allocate any free cash flow between the competing priorities of student loan debt, credit card debt, health savings accounts, emergency savings, or retirement savings.

As advice tools move from algorithms to AI, that future feels closer than ever. But we aren’t there yet. There’s a lot to be hashed out before all workers have access to high-quality, affordable financial advice that blends personalization, simplicity, and accessibility.”1 

As we mapped out future-forward solutions, I kept coming back to the core of the problem: We make individuals responsible for saving for retirement, then give them complex investment options. Even Target Date Funds are getting complicated, to quote Jason Zweig’s recent Wall Street Journal article: “A vehicle that couldn’t be easier to own may soon become too hard to understand.”

Participants at the Worker’s Wealth Lab discussed five major topics in detail.

1. Data access and quality

Workers need tools to help them get financial advice. The median American holds nearly half of their net worth in their retirement plan; the stakes are too high for workers not to have access to the tools they need to succeed.

“Individuals can’t benefit from effective, holistic financial advice tools at scale (AI, algorithmic, or otherwise) without access to their financial data from both the employee benefits ecosystem and the retail financial services they use on their own, like banking or credit card lenders. The current financial data ecosystem is fragmented, and people with fewer resources often leave the weakest data footprint, potentially undermining their ability to receive quality advice.”1

There was strong consensus that workers own their retirement data. Participants also discussed how secure technology can empower workers to have greater control. 

2. Aligning incentives for worker outcomes

We discussed the role that recordkeepers and plan sponsors play in workers’ access to out-of-plan advice. While some plans provide advice inside-the-plan, others fear the litigation risk that comes with expanded offerings.

“[R]etirement recordkeeping firms’ financial incentive to keep workers’ retirement savings data in-house may be at odds with some workers’ desire to leverage outside-the-retirement-plan tools and services for digital financial advice. On top of that, many plan sponsors’ conservatism in trying new approaches to retirement and financial benefits—understandably tied to litigation risk—puts another barrier between workers and personalized, holistic, and affordable financial advice.”1

Workers want flexibility, choice, and personalized guidance. How can the retirement ecosystem evolve to make that possible?

3. Guardrails and consumer protections

It should be no surprise that AI was a key piece of the conversation:

 “As AI models in particular take on greater advisory functions, the longstanding regulatory lines between “education,” “guidance,” and “advice” become harder to maintain.”1

Former EBSA Assistant Secretary Lisa Gomez’ blog post, “Guardrails Without Roadblocks,” laid out steps policymakers and industry can take to advance consumer protection and consumer choice. There was momentum behind this balance, and belief that the two go hand-in-hand. .

4. Equity in access

“AI could either democratize advice or deepen divides. If high-income workers get premium, AI-enhanced advice via their workplace plan while low-income workers get stripped-down versions or rely on a self-service approach via generally accessible AI platforms or “finfluencers” on social media, the gap could widen.”1

Democratizing access to 401(k) advice, AI-enabled or otherwise, aligns with investor protection, consumer choice, competitive markets, and retirement security. It’s a smart move that strengthens America’s retirement system by putting participants first. 

5. The human factor

For many workers, retirement planning can be stressful. “Even with AI, many workers need human reassurance—especially when making tradeoffs under financial stress.”1

Human advice can help workers financially and emotionally navigate unexpected events like volatile markets and life changes. While AI will no doubt change the future of retirement advice, there will always be a need for a hybrid model that pairs technology with a human touch.

What does the future of retirement advice look like?

The retirement landscape needs to evolve to meet workers where they are.

“We need a future advice ecosystem that is tech-enabled, evidence-based, people-centered, built with equity at its core, and undergirded by a clear regulatory framework for financial data ownership and permissioned access across employee benefits and the rest of the financial services world.”1

Let’s break down this perspective:

• Tech-enabled: Digital access is table stakes; call centers and paper statements are relics of the past. Providers should embrace technology and support access to advice. 

• Evidence-based: Research shows that professional advice can generate 3-4% higher returns net of fees. 

• People-centered: Providers should prioritize participant needs, not commercial incentives. 

• Built with equity: DOL Interpretive Bulletin 1996-1 affirms that participants can work with advisers outside their plan, without creating risk to the plan sponsor. 

What we need to explore next

The report outlines future conversations to be had and steps to be taken to evolve the future of retirement advice: 

“A regulatory data framework. What would it take to create a standardized, portable structure that empowers individuals to share benefit, income, and account data across employers and retail providers safely and seamlessly?

The data question. How can we protect consumers and their freedom of choice?

Advice equity. How do we build AI models that reflect the needs and realities of low-to-moderate income workers rather than baking in assumptions built on higher-income profiles? How can we ensure advice models provide equitable access to information about product innovations like lifetime income or private markets?

Defining “advice” in the age of AI. Regulators, providers, and employers need shared definitions for what constitutes education, guidance, and advice when algorithms are doing the heavy lifting.

Hybrid support models. What are the moments where human support is indispensable? And how do we design affordable models that deliver both efficiency and empathy?”1

Pontera is proud to partner with The Aspen Institute to advance these key conversations and build a future where professional advice can reach every retirement dollar.

Pontera’s partnership with The Aspen Institute

Our collaboration with Aspen focuses on understanding the evolving needs of the modern American worker and defining what the next generation of financial guidance must look like. We reconvened with this working group in February to turn these key conversations into a path forward for the retirement ecosystem as a whole. We look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks.

Pontera’s technology enables financial advisors to incorporate their clients' workplace retirement assets into holistic planning, without taking custody or accessing client credentials. Our collaboration with The Aspen Institute is a critical step in democratizing access to high-quality retirement advice.

Learn more about how Pontera democratizes access to 401(k) advice in our policy resource center.

1. Lab Notes: 2025 Workers’ Wealth Lab