70% of near-retirees trust their employer on plan design; 56% expect to move workplace savings at retirement

Seventy percent of near-retirees say they trust their employer "a lot" or "some" on plan design, yet 56% of those same workers expect to move their workplace savings elsewhere at retirement. InvestmentNews reported the figures from the 2026 Retirement Study, conducted by the Retirement Research Center at DCIIA on behalf of Allspring Global Investments.

DCIIA and Manifest's DC Data Dashboard, which tracks through March 2026 using U.S. Department of Labor, Investment Company Institute and other government and industry sources, puts defined contribution rollovers to IRAs at roughly nine to one over roll-ins. In InvestmentNews's framing, the trust figure creates an opening to argue for staying in the plan, but does not determine where the balances end up.

The study surveyed 1,510 U.S. adults who were primary or joint household financial decision-makers, each holding at least $200,000 in household investable assets. The sample split into 752 near-retirees averaging age 62 and 758 retirees averaging age 71, which means the findings describe an affluent slice of near-retirement households rather than the median participant.

Asked what would keep their savings in the plan, participants cited lower costs, retirement-focused investment options and straightforward withdrawal flexibility as the top reasons, according to the coverage.

Nearly one-third of near-retirees say they want guaranteed retirement income and would consider an annuity, and the study found that decision is highly sensitive to framing, particularly the fate of any remaining balance.

In a hypothetical $500,000 savings scenario, 66% expressed interest in an annuity concept that would pass any remaining balance to heirs, while 34% were interested in a conventional annuity that offered no such provision. The coverage describes that gap as annuity interest nearly doubling when a legacy component is included.

The broader pattern the study reports is that participants are not resisting retirement solutions because they want more choices; they turn selective when meaningful trade-offs arise around income, rollovers, taxes and legacy. Both annuity figures measure stated interest in a hypothetical scenario rather than a decision anyone made about their own savings.