NEW YORK, June 24, 2025 – PLANSPONSOR has named Lisa Schwartzenburg, Vice President of Human Resources Operations, and the Gonzaga University team, a 2025 Plan Sponsor of the YearOpens in a new window in the nonprofit defined contribution with more than $200M in assets category. The award honors retirement plan sponsors who demonstrate exceptional leadership and deliver measurable improvements in retirement outcomes for their employees. The winners were announced at the 2025 PLANSPONSOR National Conference on June 4.
Under Schwartzenburg’s leadership and in partnership with TIAA and CAPTRUST, Gonzaga undertook a sweeping retirement plan transformation to increase participant engagement among its workforce of more than 2,700 employees. In an effort to ensure more employees have access to long-term retirement security, the university implemented TIAA RetirePlus to deliver a custom target-date fund series built specific to Gonzaga’s participant demographics with embedded guaranteed lifetime income1 through TIAA Traditional, TIAA’s flagship fixed annuity. The transition also included a full-plan reenrollment supported by a comprehensive outreach program and robust employee education campaign.
The results of the implementation were staggering. Following the launch in early February 2024:
- There was a 21% increase in participant retirement readiness, as measured by a proprietary TIAA metric that evaluates how well participants are taking advantage of their retirement plan benefits.
- The percentage of employees protecting their retirements with guaranteed lifetime income by contributing to TIAA Traditional rose from 24% to 94%.
- There was an 81% reduction in the number of accounts with missing beneficiary information, meaning more employees had engaged or reengaged with their plans.
- The university saw a 90% opt-in rate to the new default investment lineup. Zero employees registered complaints with Gonzaga’s HR team regarding the plan transition.
“This recognition reflects Gonzaga’s mission-driven commitment to the end-to-end well-being of our workforce,” said Schwartzenburg. “Helping our employees build a secure retirement and bolster their financial wellness are some of the most impactful ways we can support them not only as employees, but as people. I’m deeply grateful to our HR team, Retirement Committee and partners at TIAA and CAPTRUST for helping bring this vision to life.”
“Lisa’s leadership has been nothing short of transformative,” said Jim Mullery, Head of Institutional Relationship Management at TIAA. “Lisa and her team’s embrace of bold changes, commitment to ensuring employees have access to lifetime income, and ability to deliver outcomes will set a new standard in higher education retirement plans.”
PLANSPONSOR’s Plan Sponsor of the Year awards celebrate the individuals and organizations demonstrating a steadfast commitment to participants’ financial health and retirement success. Schwartzenburg’s and Gonzaga’s recognition spotlights what’s possible through change management, thoughtful plan design, impactful partnership, clear communication and education, and a dedication to ensuring employees’ financial futures are secure.
Read more about Schwartzenburg and the other winners at https://www.plansponsor.com/2025-plansponsor-of-the-year-award-winners-named/Opens in a new window
About TIAA
TIAA provides secure retirements and outcome-focused investment solutions to millions of people and thousands of institutions.i It paid more than $5.9 billion in lifetime income to retired clients in 2024ii and has $1.4 trillion in assets under management (as of 03/31/2025).iii
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About Gonzaga
Gonzaga UniversityOpens in a new window, established in Spokane, Wash. in 1887, is a nationally ranked liberal arts institution that educates students for lives of leadership and service for the common good. In keeping with its Catholic, Jesuit, and humanistic heritage and identity, Gonzaga models and expects excellence in academic and professional pursuits and intentionally develops the whole person – intellectually, spiritually, culturally, physically and emotionally. Gonzaga offers 16 undergraduate degrees through 53 majors, 68 minors and 73 concentrations; 23 master’s programs; and five doctorate degrees, through the College of Arts and Sciences and six schools: School of Business Administration, School of Education, School of Engineering and Applied Science, School of Health Sciences, School of Leadership Studies, and School of Law.
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