Exploring Retirement Realities Among Durham's Hispanic Adults (2026-2027)

Background

Retirement in the United States has increasingly shifted toward individual savings plans such as IRAs and 401(k)s. While these plans can provide flexibility and autonomy, they often leave out workers with lower incomes, limited benefits or interrupted work histories. Hispanic workers face particular barriers — they participate in retirement plans at lower rates than other racial and ethnic groups, are more likely to be self-employed, often prioritize supporting family members over contributing to retirement accounts and are more likely to leave the workforce early due to health challenges.

In Durham, Hispanic residents make up 15 percent of the county population, and one in four residents is aging into retirement. Many Hispanic adults earn lower median incomes, underestimate how long they may live past retirement age and have uneven access to traditional retirement plans, all of which can affect retirement security.

This project will explore how Hispanic adults in Durham understand and prepare for retirement and will collaborate with community organizations and financial providers to design a product or service that better supports this population.

Project Description

This project team will use a behaviorally-informed mixed-methods approach to investigate retirement planning among Hispanic adults in Durham. The team will begin with a behavioral audit of existing retirement products and services available to residents. Using behavioral science principles, students will evaluate how psychological, social and structural factors shape retirement planning and identify gaps that prevent many residents from accessing or benefiting from current offerings.

Students will then design and conduct semi-structured interviews with 15-20 Hispanic adults aged 55 and older who have recently entered or are approaching retirement. Interviews will explore expectations, priorities, trusted financial advisors and community and family influences. Findings will help illuminate barriers and opportunities for improving retirement support.

The team will also develop a citywide survey to capture broader trends in financial behaviors, access to retirement products, end-of-life planning and trusted information channels among working-age Hispanic residents. Survey data will complement interview insights.

Building on these findings, team members will design and facilitate a co-design workshop with community members, financial providers and partner organizations. The workshop will conceptualize a white label financial product or service that could be adapted and distributed by local financial institutions to better support Hispanic retirees and near-retirees. The project will conclude with a deliverable summarizing design concepts and insights to share with community stakeholders.

Anticipated Outputs

Behavioral audit of existing retirement products
Data visual of interview and survey themes
Co-design workshop with community and financial partners
Physical prototype of a white label financial product or service
White paper or outreach materials summarizing findings for community audiences

Student Opportunities

Ideally, this project team will include 2 graduate students and 5 undergraduate students. Students with interests in social justice, personal finance, behavioral science or community-engaged research are encouraged to apply. Majors may include economics, finance, psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, international comparative studies or public policy. Spanish fluency and experience with interviewing or community engagement will be valuable.

Team members will contribute to all stages of the research process, including designing research tools, preparing the IRB protocol, conducting interviews and surveys, analyzing data, facilitating the co-design workshop and drafting deliverables. Students will gain experience with behavioral diagnosis, mixed-methods research, rapid qualitative analysis, participatory design and collaborative problem-solving.

The team will meet twice a week for working and co-learning sessions, plus student-led meetings focused on updates and decision-making. Shared project management platforms will support communication, version control and clear task delegation. Graduate students will have opportunities to develop leadership and mentorship skills.

An optional summer component will involve two graduate students who will help finalize workshop materials, facilitate the workshop and prepare community-facing deliverables.

In Fall 2026, the team will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:25-2:40 p.m.

Timing

Fall 2026 – Summer 2027

Fall 2026:

Onboard and train team members
Conduct behavioral audit
Design interview and survey tools
Plan workshop activities
Submit IRB protocol and begin participant recruitment

Spring 2027:

Train team on data collection
Conduct 15-20 interviews
Develop and finalize codebook
Conduct rapid qualitative analysis
Visualize themes for workshop use

Summer 2027 (optional):

Finalize workshop activities and logistics
Recruit workshop attendees
Facilitate co-design workshop
Draft deliverables for community dissemination

Crediting

Academic credit available for fall and spring semesters; summer funding available