MassMutual closes Society of Grownups storefront as it tries to reach millennial customers

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. is scaling down its much-publicized effort to appeal to millennials.

The Springfield-based insurer is shutting down its storefront Society of Grownups venture in Brookline and abandoning plans to open similar offices in 10 more cities in the coming years. MassMutual will instead focus on digital and online financial literacy efforts, said Jim Lacey, a company spokesman.

Lacey would not comment on whether MassMutual would be laying off the more than 30 workers who are part of the Society of Grownups. However, BostInno, the online website that first reported that MassMutual would close the Brookline Society of Grownups site, said employees have been told of staff cuts.

“In an attempt to best meet the needs of the next generation of customers, we have found digital channels to be the most effect way to engage with this group,” Lacey said in a statement. “Therefore, we have made the decision to invest in and grow the Society of Grownups through delivering digital and online financial literacy tools to Millennials. Thus, we will discontinue the physical storefront as a customer interaction location.”

The Society of Grownups’ storefront was aimed at adults under 40, offering financial planning classes, supper clubs, and discussions about how to save for a home or afford rent.

MassMutual started Society of Grownups with a $10 million investment in 2014. Last fall, the insurance giant announced that it would put $100 million behind the effort to open its offices in cities such as New York and Philadelphia.