Plan Participants Seek Wider Options for Retirement Income, per Cerulli, Guardian

As insurers continue rolling out new income-focused solutions for defined contribution plans, recent research from Cerulli Associates and the Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America suggests participant adoption may depend as much on advice, education and recordkeeping support as on the products themselves.

Guardian found that many savers had not adequately planned for how they will generate income throughout retirement, particularly in later years. Only 34% of respondents to a June survey of 2,082 U.S. adults said they had planned for how they would receive income at age 80 and beyond, compared with 48% who had planned for income during their 60s. The study also found that 75% of respondents worried about how unexpected events could affect their retirement savings.

At the same time, respondents expressed a strong desire for income certainty. Guardian found that 64% of respondents said guaranteed income would make them more confident about retirement, compared with 57% who cited a documented financial plan and 53% who cited professional guidance.

Yet the “Cerulli Report—U.S. Defined Contribution Distribution 2026” suggested that retirement income preferences are more nuanced than a simple desire for guarantees. Cerulli found that almost half of surveyed participants—46%—wanted the flexibility to withdraw money whenever they choose. Nearly 40% wanted a personalized and actionable retirement plan, 39% wanted guaranteed monthly income savings, and 31% wanted the ability to change their investments.

Those competing priorities were one of the study’s central findings, according to Chris Bailey, a director at Cerulli’s retirement practice.

“When it comes to retirement income, there’s a lot of conversation about how much participants want a guarantee,” Bailey says. “But when you put that up against things like planning [and] flexibility, the picture becomes a little bit more blurry. No one of those things really dominates the chart. It speaks to a person-by-person basis. Guarantees might work for some folks, but planning is also really, really important.”

Rather than revealing overwhelming demand for any single solution, Bailey says the survey results highlight the importance for plan sponsors and advisers of understanding participants’ priorities.

“Flexibility sounds nice; guarantees sound nice. They both have trade-offs,” he says. “If you’re not in an annuity product, you’re exposed to the ups and downs of the market. … With an annuity product, you give up a degree of flexibility, [but monthly payments are] comforting to some folks.”

Bailey says adding stable value funds, fixed-income options and systematic withdrawal features are among potential plan investment and design changes that could improve retirement outcomes without significantly overhauling the investment menu.

Yet Cerulli also found that product complexity remains a barrier. According to Bailey, advisers and home-office due diligence teams often face an “alphabet soup” of retirement-income products and terminology, making evaluation and implementation difficult. He recalls one adviser saying it took 18 months, stretched over quarterly meetings, before a plan sponsor client understood how the products worked and could even begin any selection process.

Cerulli also surveyed recordkeepers, of which 70% said support for guaranteed income solutions and improved retiree distribution capabilities are organizational priorities. But Bailey notes that some recordkeeping systems were built primarily for accumulation, rather than decumulation.

“Decumulation wasn’t a thing when the 401(k) started,” Bailey says. “Now here we are with all these assets and people trying to take them out, and systems are saying, ‘Oh, shoot, we’ve got to figure this out.’”

Mirroring plan participant demands, Bailey foresees recordkeepers expanding from a single retirement income solution to offering a suite.

“None of these [solutions] are going to be one size fits all. It’s figuring out what are the right pieces you need to have in place,” Bailey says. “Who are your participants and how do they behave? What do they need? Then you put together the right package of solutions for them.”

Cerulli’s data include 1,254 active 401(k) plan participants and 486 retirees surveyed in the first quarter of 2026; 58 direct contribution plan advisers surveyed in the third quarter of 2026; 24 consulting firms surveyed in the third quarter of 2026; and 25 recordkeepers surveyed in fourth quarter of 2025. Guardian partnered with Morning Consult to survey 2,082 U.S. adults from June 1 to 13, 2026.