Most 401(k) participants are open to guidance on retirement decisions but become considerably more cautious when automation means surrendering access, control, or the ability to leave assets to heirs.
That’s according to the 2026 Retirement Study conducted by the Retirement Research Center at DCIIA on behalf of Allspring Global Investments. The sample of 1,510 U.S. adults who were primary or joint household financial decision-makers, comprised 752 near-retirees with an average age of 62 and 758 retirees with an average age of 71, each holding at least $200,000 in household investable assets.
The central finding is that participants are not resisting retirement solutions because they want more choices. They become more selective when meaningful trade-offs arise particularly around income, rollovers, taxes, and legacy.
The study opens with a data point that will be familiar to many plan advisors but remains difficult to solve: 70% of near-retirees say they trust their employer "a lot" or "some" when it comes to plan design. But 56% of those same near-retirees expect to move their workplace savings elsewhere at retirement.
According to DCIIA and Manifest's DC Data Dashboard, which tracks data through March 2026 based on U.S. Department of Labor, Investment Company Institute, and other government and industry sources, defined contribution rollovers to IRAs are exceeding roll-ins by approximately nine to one. In other words, trust creates an opportunity to make the case for staying rather than determine where the money actually goes.
Lower costs, retirement-focused investment options, and straightforward withdrawal flexibility are cited in the study as the top reasons participants would keep their savings in plan.
The study's findings on retirement income cut to the heart of what advisors are frequently asked to navigate. Nearly one-third of near-retirees say they want guaranteed retirement income and would consider an annuity. But the study shows the decision is highly sensitive to how the product is framed, particularly around the fate of any remaining balance.
When asked about a hypothetical $500,000 savings scenario, 66% of respondents expressed interest in an annuity concept that would pass any remaining balance to heirs. By contrast, only 34% were interested in a conventional annuity that offered no such provision. At the same savings level, annuity interest nearly doubled when a legacy component was included.
This finding aligns with a broader pattern the study describes: 70% of participants want both income protection and control over their assets. Only 18% prioritize income protection alone, and 12% prioritize access and control above all else. Advisors pressing clients toward a single income solution may be misreading what most of them actually want.
Retail annuity sales reached a record $464.1 billion in 2025, up 7% from 2024, according to LIMRA's Final U.S. Retail Annuity Sales data, published March 23, 2026. The Allspring study suggests the retirement income challenge is less about the type of annuity and more about when and how it is presented and whether it preserves a sense of ownership.
Target date funds (TDFs) remain a cornerstone of defined contribution plan design. But the Allspring study documents a sharp usage decline as participants move from accumulation to distribution.
Citing data from Cerulli Associates' The Cerulli Report: U.S. Defined Contribution Distribution 2024, the study notes that 35% of 401(k) assets were held in TDFs as of December 31, 2023. The figure for IRA assets is 2% as of June 30, 2024, based on Allspring's calculation using Investment Company Institute data. The study's own survey data reflect this: 55% of near-retirees hold some retirement assets in a TDF, compared with just 17% of retirees.
The Allspring study finds reasons include wanting more control, working with an advisor, and concerns about investment performance. TDFs are effective at managing portfolio allocation - diversification, rebalancing, and risk adjustment - but retirement needs extend well beyond asset allocation into areas like withdrawals, tax decisions, income elections, and rollovers.
Advisor engagement increases consistently with life stage, according to the study. Some 27% of early-career workers use an advisor, compared with 48% at mid-career, 68% in later career, and 73% after retirement. But higher advisor engagement does not mean participants follow a uniform path. Near-retirees who use an advisor are actually more likely to roll their assets out of their employer plan at separation, not less.
Twenty-seven percent of retirees in the survey retired after age 65, while 16% returned to work following initial retirement. Plan sponsors and advisors do not need to steer every participant toward the same outcome. The more productive approach is to identify the decision points where personalized guidance delivers the most value and to concentrate resources there.
The study's final section introduces three investor personas that help explain why participants with similar account balances and incomes often make very different decisions. All three groups had nearly identical median household investable assets of approximately $625,000 for the first two groups and $875,000 for the third.
The largest cohort (45%) of respondents prioritizes safety, predictability, and access. A second group, representing 35%, focuses on real return and is highly confident that equities will support their retirement. The remaining 20% are tax-efficiency oriented: 92% of this group say they would act if the resulting tax savings were sufficient.
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