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Upwise by Metlife

Overview

Upwise is MetLife’s $22M proprietary financial wellness and benefits platform designed to help employees choose and use their benefits more effectively — from health coverage to financial planning. Built in response to a national trend of benefit confusion and underutilization, Upwise empowers employees with personalized benefit recommendations, proactive reminders, and interactive tools to maximize their coverage year-round.

As the lead designer on a 5-person team, I drove the full product design sprint, strategy, and iterative UX process from zero to launch.


The Problem: Complex Benefits, Poor Engagement

 

Employers invest thousands per employee each year in benefits, yet:

  • 53% of employees say they don’t understand their benefits

  • 45% say they’re confused during open enrollment

  • Benefit utilization is often reactive — not proactive — leading to waste, stress, and low ROI

We saw a massive gap between investment and impact. Upwise was designed to close that gap with a modern, intelligent, and engaging financial experience.


The UX Challenge 

Benefits software typically falls into two buckets:

  1. Enrollment engines with clunky forms

  2. Financial tools with no understanding of insurance or life events

Our goal with Upwise was to combine these into a single platform that could:

  • Educate users contextually (not overwhelm them)

  • Make benefit decisions emotionally intelligent

  • Drive year-round value, not just during open enrollment

 

Research & Persona Development 

 

We collaborated with MetLife’s data science and HR benefits teams to define target users across industries. We mapped out archetypes like:

Name Role Challenge Desired Outcome
Sara HR-employed millennial mom Planning for family while budgeting Holistic benefit insights
Jerome First-gen grad Navigating insurance alone Step-by-step guidance
Diana Gen X mid-level manager Too busy for plan deep dives Smart defaults & reminders

We layered user interviews, employer feedback, and behavioral analytics from previous tools to prioritize emotional drivers behind benefit engagement: protection, confidence, financial control, and life event readiness.

 

The Process: End-to-End Product Sprint

 
I led a 6-week design sprint encompassing:

  • Phase 1: Discovery
    Workshops with MetLife HR clients, brokers, and employees

  • Phase 2: Strategy
    Defined a core product vision:

 
“A benefits engagement platform that works for employees  — not just during open enrollment, but thoughout life “

  • Phase 3: Rapid Prototyping

    • Mobile-first Figma flows for onboarding, dashboards, nudges, and health integrations

    • Iterated on visual hierarchy to balance financial data with action cues

  • Phase 4: Testing & Validation

    • Remote user testing with 25 participants

    • High-fidelity walkthroughs for employers to approve messaging tone and benefit logic

    • Heuristic audits for ADA compliance and financial literacy clarity

 

Core Features

Personalized Benefit Selector

Instead of making users sort through long PDFs or option trees, we built a smart selector using:

  • A quick survey on health, life plans, and money habits

  • AI-powered logic to recommend customized benefit bundles

  • Clear reasons behind each recommendation (“You said you’re planning to have a baby”)

Life-Event-Based Nudges

We introduced smart notifications to guide employees throughout the year, not just in November.

Example:

“Sara” indicates she’s expecting a child during open enrollment.
→ Months later, Upwise detects medical claims and sends a nudge:
“You’re eligible for Hospital Indemnity benefits. Want to learn more?”

 

We mapped dozens of life events — from moving to illness — and tailored benefit actions accordingly.

 

Financial Confidence Layer

Beyond benefits, we layered in budgeting and debt visibility:

  • Unified view of checking, savings, credit, loans, and investment accounts

  • Modular “Budget Builder” that breaks down spend, surplus, and recommendations

  • Gamified challenges tied to saving goals and employer programs

Concierge Experience

We didn’t just design a platform. We created a “concierge” model:

  • Human support when AI couldn’t help
  • Tailored insights based on MX financial data integrations
  • “Explain it like I’m five” breakdowns of terms like deductible, copay, HSA

 UX Design Systems & Leadership

  • Led the creation of a design system to ensure scalability across future employer clients

  • Built Figma component libraries in tandem with engineering

  • Facilitated design reviews with MetLife’s internal brand and compliance teams

Our system supported:

 

  • ADA standards

  • WCAG 2.1 accessibility

  • Localization and plan customization

 

Iterative Learning & Testing Outcomes

 

We ran 3 rounds of usability testing, each informing product decisions:

 

InsightChange
Users misunderstood plan differencesAdded tooltips and side-by-side plan visuals
New hires missed benefits deadlineIntroduced smart calendar reminders and push alerts
Budget builder felt “too advanced”Split into basic and advanced modes

We saw:

  • 2x engagement on day 1 vs. MetLife legacy tools

  • 3x more users saving at least one financial goal

  • 25% of employees used their benefits within 45 days of enrollment — a major uplift

 
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