Allspring study finds 70% of participants rank control above guaranteed income

Allspring Global Investments released research today finding that 70% of surveyed plan participants rank access to and control over their contributions and investments above guaranteed income benefits in the workplace plan. The study of more than 1,500 respondents also found that nearly a third said they would like guaranteed income benefits included.

The report, The Retirement Decisions Defaults Can't Address, was conducted by Allspring and the Retirement Research Center at DCIIA. It found that participants in large numbers intend to leave their workplace plan at retirement, especially if they have been working with an advisor.

The study concludes sponsors seeking to retain participants should keep costs low, provide guidance actively, and include a much broader range of retirement- and income-focused investment choices.

Advisor engagement rises across a working life: only 27% of participants work with an advisor early in their career, against 73% at retirement, according to the study.

“Retirement decisions become far more personal as people approach and enter retirement,” Nate Miles, head of Retirement at Allspring, said. “Our research suggests participants don't fit neatly into a single definition of success.”

Earlier coverage of the same research by this publication found that a legacy plan provision nearly doubled near-retirees' interest in an annuity in a $500,000 scenario.

The same research found 70% of near-retirees say they trust their employer on plan design, and 56% expect to move their workplace savings at retirement.