As workers struggle with competing financial priorities and high day-to-day costs, more could soon demand for a return to pension-like security in retirement.
The 2026 Retirement Outlook report fields insights from senior experts from Athene, Apollo, and Vitera, on the themes impacting retirement savers and retirees today, like guaranteed income in retirement planning.
Torsten Slok, a chief economist at Apollo, touches on the risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI)-driven equity investments. As more retiree portfolios over-allocate to these equities, “concentration risk increases the impact of any potential correction” should the investments drop, he reports. An analysis from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), the Investment Company Institute (ICI), and Apollo finds that seven in 10 of 401(k) dollars are allocated to equities for savers in their 50s—a prime savings time for those wanting to retire at age 65.
Other risks include ongoing inflation, which could add downward pressure on investors and disproportionately impact retirement savings, Slok adds.
“For retirees and near-retirees, the combination of concentrated equity exposure and the risk of renewed inflation makes portfolio construction and income protection more critical than at any point in recent decades,” Slok writes in his insight.
Experts note that guaranteed income solutions could offer income security to retirees concerned with decumulation.
“New sources of retirement income are needed to buffer those risks,” obseves Grant Kvalheim, CEO at Athene. “We see guaranteed income solutions becoming a core allocation to anchor retirement portfolios, reintroducing something the system has been missing: true income security.”
Despite the interest from plan sponsors and participants, studies show that adoption with guaranteed income solutions remains low. A DC Plan Sponsor survey from investment manager MFS found that while employers had evaluated guaranteed income options, only 17% said they were “very” or “extremely” likely to incorporate a solution within the next 12 to 18 months.
This sentiment could change as workers relay concerns over running out of money in retirement. A push for funds with embedded income options could also accelerate adoption, writes Rebecca Tadikonda, head of Strategy and Innovation for Athene and CEO of Vitera.
Prior findings from Sway Research showed that assets in target-date investment with guaranteed income features hit $103 billion on June 30, 2025. This was a 25% increase from $83 billion at year-end 2024.
“For now, solutions that give plan participants automatic yet flexible income and full access to their savings are gaining steam,” she concludes. “For plan sponsors, the opportunity is clear: bring together existing auto features with auto-income so that participants retire with an account balance and a plan to spend it.”