John Hancock Retirement Launches FutureStep™ with Vestwell for Modern Retirement Planning

BOSTON, Jan. 14, 2025 – John Hancock Retirement, a division of Manulife Wealth & Asset Management, has unveiled FutureStep™, a new open-architecture retirement plan offering, in partnership with Vestwell. The digital solution, set to launch in early 2025, aims to simplify retirement planning for advisors, employers, and savers while enhancing engagement and service delivery.

FutureStep will integrate Vestwell’s technology to provide a seamless, modern interface across advisor, employer, and saver portals. The offering is designed to help advisors scale their practices and includes competitive pricing, personalized onboarding, robust payroll integration, and support for navigating complex legislation. It will complement John Hancock Retirement’s existing suite of retirement plans.

“This is an exciting time for us, and we could not be more pleased to partner with Vestwell to help bring retirement planning to more employers who are helping their employees prioritize retirement,” said Wayne Park, CEO of John Hancock Retirement. “As a multiplatform provider, we’ve added FutureStep so we can continue to expand the number of plans and participants that we serve.”

Gary Tankersley, Head of the Core Segment at John Hancock Retirement, emphasized the company’s commitment to innovation. “FutureStep demonstrates our focus on continuous improvement and the innovation of our offerings to meet the evolving needs of our clients,” he said. “We look forward to sharing more on FutureStep in 2025 and have confidence that it will bring more plans to more Americans.”

Aaron Schumm, Founder and CEO of Vestwell, highlighted the shared mission of the partnership. “John Hancock Retirement has been a leader in the savings industry for decades. We share a commitment to providing exceptional service and innovative solutions to our clients, helping to bridge the access gap and promote savings for everyone,” Schumm said. “Together with John Hancock Retirement, we can help address the growing demands of the industry, creating modern savings solutions that make retirement savings more affordable and accessible for all.”

John Hancock Retirement, which services over 57,000 retirement plans with more than 3.2 million participants and $238 billion in assets under management, aims to maintain its position as a top recordkeeper. The company is modernizing its retirement plan ecosystem through new offerings, digital experience updates, and technology upgrades.

“Looking to deliver powerful retirement plans that lead to positive outcomes for participants has always been our focus,” Park concluded. “The future of retirement security is dependent on bringing new offerings, tools, and education to participants and broadening access to planning so that more people have the opportunity to attain a secure retirement.”