Patent Issued for Graphical user interface for presenting incremental opportunities in a financial planning system (USPTO 11710178): Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America

2023 AUG 16 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Alexandria, Virginia, NewsRx journalists report that a patent by the inventors Hough, Sean (Thornton, CO, US), O’Connell, Paul (Wilmington, MA, US), Probetts, Daryl (Highlands Ranch, CO, US), filed on May 21, 2019, was published online on July 25, 2023.

The patent’s assignee for patent number 11710178 is Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America (Greenwood Village, Colorado, United States).

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “The disclosure relates generally to account management, and more specifically to, a user interface for manipulating account projections based on financial data captured and aggregated from multiple sources.

“Increasingly, individuals are responsible for managing their own personal retirement accounts, which may be supplemented by employer contributions. Individual accountholders may be ill-equipped to optimize retirement accounts, as the lengthy term of the account increases sensitivity to asset allocation, contribution strategies, withdraw strategies, and changes in supplemental retirement benefits. For example, market conditions and/or a projected retirement date may require specific adjustments to the asset allocation of the account. Additionally, contribution and withdrawal policies may change. For example, taxes may be adjusted or assessed differently from year to year. As a result, many participants in financial plans, such as employer-provided 401(k) plans, would benefit from enrollment in a financial planning system that provides enhanced service, such as improved recommendations and visualization tools. However, at least some known financial planning systems, in attempting to provide a more sophisticated set of tools for the user, present a dramatically different and/or more complex user interface as compared to the basic 401(k) plan management interface to which many users are accustomed. As a result, many ordinary participants may be dissuaded from enrolling in, or continuing to stay enrolled in, such enhanced services.

“Moreover, at least some known conventional on-line financial planning systems generate a large number of recommendations that overwhelm the ordinary user, and/or recommendations that are too complex for the ordinary user to grasp, and/or recommendations that result in changes that appear extreme to the ordinary user. As a result, financial planning participants using such known systems may be unable or unwilling to take steps to improve their income in retirement.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The following detailed description illustrates embodiments of the disclosure by way of example and not by way of limitation. The description enables one skilled in the art to make and use the disclosure. It also describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives, and uses of the disclosure, including what is presently believed to be the best mode of carrying out the disclosure.

“The systems and methods of the disclosure facilitate generating account projections based on financial data captured and aggregated from multiple sources, and alerting accountholders in response to changes in the account projection.

“A GUI computer system for providing a graphical user interface (GUI) is provided. The GUI computer system is in communication with at least one planning engine. The planning engine includes multiple optimization modules for planning significant personal economic events (e.g., investment, savings, retirement). The GUI computer system is configured to capture and centrally store user profile data, including the financial data used by the optimization modules, such as the composition of investment accounts (e.g., employer-provided 401(k) plans). The planning engine is configured to retrieve additional financial data from multiple external data sources, such as asset return projections. Additionally, the GUI computer system may be configured to provide a web interface to capture financial data from the user. For example, the GUI computer system may provide a HTTP API or an interactive web application through which the user can enter data. Additionally, the GUI computer system may be configured to cause the GUI to be displayed by an application installed on a mobile device of a user.

“The planning engine is configured to generate account projections in response to captured financial data. In some embodiments, the planning engine generates account projections (e.g., in near-real-time) based on updated financial data retrieved from the external data sources (e.g., third-party banking institutions, investment institutions) and/or from the user interface. For example, a deferral optimization module generates an updated account projection based on changes in employer contribution formulas, maximum contribution formulas, effective tax rates, current contribution rates, account allocation, project return data, and the like.

“In certain embodiments, the GUI computer system provides basic or introductory-level services for an existing retirement account. For example, the retirement account is associated with a 401(k) or similar plan provided by an employer, and the GUI computer system provides a default user interface to employees to allow each employee to monitor performance and/or update basic data regarding the account. In addition, the GUI computer system provides an option to register for enhanced services, such as a financial advisor program that integrates other accounts and benefits of the user into a unified retirement income analysis and planning system. For users who register for the enhanced services, the GUI computer system maintains and builds upon the graphical GUI associated with the introductory-level services, adding additional functionality and features in order to provide a familiar and streamlined user experience to users who register, thus reducing barriers to user enrollment for the enhanced service level. In some such embodiments, the planning engine includes a first planning engine configured to receive calls from the GUI and provide financial projections for the basic or default service level, and a second planning engine configured to receive calls from the GUI and provide financial projections and recommendations for the enhanced service level. Alternatively, a single planning engine interfaces with the GUI for both service levels.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A computer-implemented method for providing recommended modifications to user profiles of a service, the method comprising: presenting a comparison between a projection for a user and a user goal corresponding to the projection on a first page of a graphical user interface (GUI), wherein the projection is generated by a first engine based on values maintained in a user profile of the user, the first engine in communication with the GUI via a first API, and presenting a candidate modification for the user profile on the first page of the GUI, wherein: the candidate modification is identified from an ordered list of candidate modifications for user profiles by a second engine executed separately from the first engine and in communication with the GUI via a second API different from the first API, and the second engine identifies the candidate modification as a highest ordered candidate modification in the ordered list of candidate modifications not implemented in the user profile of the user; and updating a jump link on the first page of the GUI to point to a second page of the GUI including controls for applying the candidate modification to the user profile, wherein the GUI further includes an interactive control configured to be manipulated by the user to provide modified values for the user profile and the GUI is configured to transmit the modified values through an API to update the user profile.

“2. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating a message area on the first page of the GUI to display a message recommending the candidate modification.

“3. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting one or more second jump links for navigating to pages of the GUI for modifying the values maintained in the user profile of the user.

“4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second engine identifies the candidate modification by accessing predetermined change thresholds for parameters of the user profile, and wherein the ordered list of candidate modifications is limited to candidate modifications that do not exceed the predetermined change thresholds.

“5. The method of claim 1, wherein the candidate modification includes replacing null values in the user profile.

“6. The method of claim 1, wherein: the first engine is one of a plurality of first engines, each of the plurality of first engines corresponds to a different account level of the user, and each of the plurality of first engines is configured to generate the projection based on a different set of data.

“7. The method of claim 1, wherein the projection is a projected retirement income for the user and the goal is a goal retirement income.

“8. A graphical user interface (GUI) comprising: a first GUI page comprising: a first area including a comparison between a projection for a user and a user goal corresponding to the projection on a first page of a graphical user interface (GUI), wherein the projection is generated by a first engine based on values maintained in a user profile of the user, the first engine in communication with the GUI via a first API, and a second area including a candidate modification for the user profile on the first page of the GUI, wherein: the candidate modification is identified from an ordered list of candidate modifications for user profiles by a second engine executed separately from the first engine and in communication with the GUI via second API different from the first API, and the second engine identifies the candidate modification as a highest ordered candidate modification in the ordered list of candidate modifications not implemented in the user profile of the user; and a jump link on the first page of the GUI to point to a second GUI page including controls for applying the candidate modification to the user profile; and an interactive control configured to be manipulated by the user to provide modified values for the user profile, wherein the GUI is configured to transmit the modified values through an API to update the user profile.

“9. The GUI of claim 8, wherein the first GUI page further comprises a dynamically updated message area for displaying a message recommending the candidate modification.

“10. The GUI of claim 8, wherein the first GUI page further comprises one or more second jump links for navigating to other pages of the GUI for modifying the values maintained in the user profile of the user.

“11. The GUI of claim 8, wherein the second engine identifies the candidate modification by accessing predetermined change thresholds for parameters of the user profile, and wherein the ordered list of candidate modifications is limited to candidate modifications that do not exceed the predetermined change thresholds.

“12. The GUI of claim 8, wherein the candidate modification includes replacing null values in the user profile.

“13. The GUI of claim 8, wherein: the first engine is one of a plurality of first engines, each of the plurality of first engines corresponds to a different account level of the user, and each of the plurality of first engines is configured to generate the projection based on a different set of data.

“14. The GUI of claim 8, wherein the projected outcome is a projected retirement income for the user and the goal is a goal retirement income.

“15. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage media that includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: present a comparison between a projection for a user and a user goal corresponding to the projection on a first page of a graphical user interface (GUI), wherein the projection is generated by a first engine based on values maintained in a user profile of the user, the first engine in communication with the GUI via a first API; and present a candidate modification for the user profile on the first page of the GUI, wherein: the candidate modification is identified from an ordered list of candidate modifications for user profiles by a second engine executed separately from the first engine and in communication with the GUI via a second API different from the first API, and the second engine identifies the candidate modification as a highest ordered candidate modification in the ordered list of candidate modifications not implemented in the user profile of the user; and update a jump link on the first page of the GUI to point to a second page of the GUI including controls for applying the candidate modification to the user profile, wherein the GUI further includes an interactive control configured to be manipulated by the user to provide modified values for the user profile and the GUI is configured to transmit the modified values through an API to update the user profile.

“16. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to update a message area on the first page of the GUI to display a message recommending the candidate modification.

“17. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to present one or more second jump links for navigating to pages of the GUI for modifying the values maintained in the user profile of the user.

“18. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the second engine identifies the candidate modification by accessing predetermined change thresholds for parameters of the user profile, and wherein the ordered list of candidate modifications is limited to candidate modifications that do not exceed the predetermined change thresholds.

“19. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the candidate modification includes replacing null values in the user profile.

“20. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 15, wherein: the first engine is one of a plurality of first engines, each of the plurality of first engines corresponds to a different account level of the user, and each of the plurality of first engines is configured to generate the projection based on a different set of data.”

For additional information on this patent, see: Hough, Sean. Graphical user interface for presenting incremental opportunities in a financial planning system. U.S. Patent Number 11710178, filed May 21, 2019, and published online on July 25, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11710178)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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