401(k) Income Research Center

The 401(k) Income Research Center 

A question facing many 401(k) plan sponsors today is whether to provide participants with tools—possibly but not necessarily a type of annuity—for someday turning their tax-deferred savings accounts into (guaranteed or otherwise) retirement income.

This question has in fact nagged the private, employer-sponsored segment of the retirement plan industry for at least a quarter-century. While there’s no single answer, there’s been no shortage of constructive ideas, described in whitepapers, patents, curriculums, product fact sheets, academic research, and news articles.

At Retirement Income Journal, we see a steady flow of these documents. So, with interest in this topic growing, we’ve decided to put a selection of them in one place for plan sponsors, plan advisors, service providers and other stakeholders to find, browse and read.

The 401(k) Income Research Center is a library-in-progress. We expect its contents to grow steadily. There will be information about the benefits, costs, responsibilities, opportunities, obstacles to and legal hazards of retrofitting 401(k)s for income. Suggestions and contributions (pdfs, links) are welcome.

Courses for professional credit

NAPA Retirement Income for 401(k) Plans (RI(k)™) Certificate Course
The Retirement Income for 401(k) Plans (RI(k)™) Certificate Course is a program designed to help plan advisors communicate and implement retirement income solutions to their clients. The course builds upon foundational knowledge while equipping advisors with tools to navigate and understand a variety of retirement income plans.

Industry white papers 

Prudent Practices for Retirement Income Solutions  (Retirement Income Consortium, 2024)

Cause to Question: Researching Safest Available Annuities (Annuity Research & Consulting, 2024)

Design Matters: Plan Distribution Options (Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association, July 2017)

Leveling the Retirement Income Playing Field (AllianceBernstein, June 2023)

The Retirement Plan Lifetime Income Strategies Assessment (Morningstar, September 2022)

The Plan Sponsor’s Guide to Retirement Income (Pensions & Investments, 2023)

The SECURE Act: What the Future Holds for Annuities in Retirement Plans (Deloitte, 2022)

Protected Retirement Income Solutions Ernst & Young

PGIM: Retirement Income Beliefs: A Roadmap to Optimal Solutions (Prudential)

Income Blueprint  (American Century)

A Five-Dimensional Framework for Retirement Income Needs and Solutions  (T. Rowe Price, May 2024)

Comparing a Novel In-Plan Income Solution to Alternatives (Cannex, March 2023)

From Savings to Income: The Critical Role of Retirement Income Projections in DC Plans (Institutional Retirement Income Council, 2024).

From law firms

Is Your DC Plan Retirement Ready? Helping Participants Get to and Through Retirement, Michael Kreps, Groom Law Group, May 20, 2024.

Lincoln Secured Retirement Incomesm Solution: Fiduciary Process in Evaluating In-Plan Guarantees (Drinker Biddle, 2017)

Product/service providers (links, fact sheets)

NCIT American Funds Lifetime Income Builder Target Date Series (Nationwide)

Unlocking Retirement Income: AllianceBernstein

Empower SecureFoundation Suite 

Income Connectivity 1.0: Making Lifetime Income More Accessible by Utilizing Seamless Connectivity (Micruity, 2021).

Fidelity Guaranteed Income Direct.

Income America 5forLife product fact sheet.

RIJ articles on 401(k) income solutions

“Should Participants Get Lifetime Income By ‘Default’?” (August 2024)

“BlackRock Relaunches its LifePath Paycheck Retirement Income Tool” (May 2024)

“An In-Plan Annuity with Three Life Insurers” AllianceBernstein. June 2024)

“What Recordkeepers Think about 401(k) Annuities” (June 2024)

“Iceland’s Tiny But Great Collective DC Plan” (January 14, 2024)

“The Catch-22 of In-Plan Annuities” (December 17, 2020)

“Sticking to the Plan’ While Taking Income” Pension Plus. (February 5, 2024)

“Meet the Newest Platform in the 401(k) Annuity Space” ALEXIncome. (March 2024)

“A ‘Nesting Doll’ of an In-Plan Annuity” ARS, State Street Global Advisors, Nationwide, Athene, Transamerica and Global Trust Company (April 2024)

Income America Offers 5forLife (March 4, 2021)

Academic articles on DC distribution

“Plan Design and Participant Behavior in Defined Contribution Plans: Past, Present and Future,” by Reuter, Jonathan. NBER Working Paper 32653.

© 2024 RIJ Publishing LLC.