PORTFOLIO - MINNESOTA TRA
Rebuilding an accessible digital home for Minnesota's teachers and retirees
High Monkey handled the full TRA website redesign: a rebuilt information architecture, new self-service tools, and WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility built in from the start, developed on Drupal.
Minnesota Teacher's Retirement Association (TRA) | Launched April 2026
About the client
Minnesota Teachers Retirement Association (TRA) is one of Minnesota's three statewide public pension funds. Established by the Minnesota Legislature in 1931, TRA administers a defined benefit pension plan for the state's eligible teachers and education professionals, serving members throughout their careers and into retirement. The association is governed by a board of trustees and led by Executive Director Tim Maurer.
Established 1931 | 1 of 3 MN statewide public pension funds | 200,000+ members and benefit recipients
The challenge
TRA's site served more than 200,000 members, retirees, and employers who rely on it to understand their benefits, complete required processes, and stay current on pension guidance. The existing site had grown to roughly 80 pages with unclear navigation, no self-service tools for common requests like data requests or event registration, and accessibility gaps built into the site's own brand and color palette. The redesign needed to consolidate and reorganize content around TRA's distinct audiences, introduce online tools members and employers didn't previously have, and meet WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards from the ground up rather than as a late fix.
Key requirements
- Audience-based information architecture - Reorganize and consolidate the site from roughly 80 pages to around 50, grouped around who visitors are (members, retirees, employers) instead of how the site happened to grow.
- WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility compliance - Rebuild the site's brand and color system to meet accessibility standards from the start, not as a late-stage fix.
- New self-service tools - Introduce functionality the site never had: an online Contact form, electronic data request forms replacing PDF downloads, and an interactive events calendar.
- Governance and staff training - Provide TRA staff with documentation, migration training, and workflows to manage and publish content independently after launch.
Our approach
High Monkey handled the full TRA rebuild, from information architecture through development, accessibility testing, and staff training. The team rebuilt the site on Drupal, hosted on Acquia, with accessibility and self-service functionality treated as core requirements rather than add-ons.
Information architecture and navigation rebuild
Every page on the legacy site was mapped against a new structure built around TRA's distinct audiences: active members, retirees, and employers. The result consolidated the site from roughly 80 pages down to around 50, giving each audience a clearer path to the content relevant to them.
Accessibility rebuilt from the ground up
High Monkey rebuilt TRA's brand and color system to meet WCAG 2.1 AA from the start. Contrast issues, skipped heading levels, and missing alt text present on the legacy site were resolved, and the rebuilt site was tested against WAVE, NVDA screen reader, and Screaming Frog crawls prior to launch.
New self-service functionality
The redesigned site introduced tools that hadn't existed before: an online Contact form, electronic data request forms replacing PDF downloads, and an interactive events calendar to help TRA promote its regular member education sessions and board meetings.
Migration, training, and documentation
High Monkey assisted TRA with a full content audit and migration, then provided documentation and hands-on training so TRA staff could manage publishing, archiving, and governance independently going forward.
Results and impact
The rebuilt TRA site launched in April 2026, the product of a smooth, collaborative partnership between High Monkey and TRA from discovery through launch. The result gives Minnesota's teachers, retirees, and employers a more organized and accessible way to manage their pension benefits online.
Key outcomes
- WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility compliance - Confirmed through WAVE, NVDA screen reader, and Screaming Frog testing prior to launch, with specific issues identified and remediated ahead of go-live.
- New self-service capability - Members, retirees, and employers can now submit data requests and contact inquiries online and check an interactive events calendar, none of which existed on the previous site.
- Independent content governance - TRA staff completed migration training and received documentation to manage publishing and archiving without ongoing developer support.
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