5 Trends Will Shake Up the Retirement Industry in 2026

As the defined contribution (DC) system moves into 2026, the Institutional Retirement Income Council (IRIC) believes the U.S. is at a critical juncture in terms of how the country’s employers help workers turn savings into sustainable retirement income.

In recent years, plan sponsors and recordkeepers have explored a growing variety of:

In-plan income solutions;
Hybrid target date funds;
Annuity marketplaces;
Systematic withdrawal programs;
Managed accounts with built-in income features; and,
Middleware integration capabilities.

That exploratory phase is now shifting toward something much more significant: widespread adoption.

In 2026, IRIC expects employers, consultants, retirement plan advisors and retirement service providers to work together around a shared goal: bringing retirement income access directly into the plan and offering tools, education and solutions that help employees convert savings into meaningful and sustainable retirement income.

This article shares five retirement industry trends that IRIC has identified as most noteworthy for 2026.

1. From Interest to Adoption: The Pivot Point for Plan Sponsors

Through 2025, the retirement industry continued to build the foundation for in-plan retirement income. This included a growing variety of hybrid target date funds, annuity marketplaces, systematic withdrawal plans, managed accounts with integrated income features and middleware integrations.

In 2026, the focus shifts from creation to wider adoption by plan sponsors. Consultants and advisers will implement standardized fiduciary evaluation frameworks, making it easier for plan sponsor committees to evaluate, compare and select retirement income options.

The industry’s common challenge and opportunity is to go beyond pilot programs to widespread plan adoption, ensuring meaningful participant access and measurable retirement income results.

2. The Next Frontier: Enhancing the Participant Experience

2026 will be shaped by enhancements in the participant experience for engaging with and transacting in-plan retirement income options.

Recordkeepers, middleware technology companies and income solution providers will continue to collaborate to create more seamlessly integrated and user-friendly interfaces that enable participants to evaluate, select and manage income options directly within their DC plan platforms.

This evolution will emphasize clarity, simplicity and digital engagement, helping participants:

Understand how their plan balance converts to income;
Compare income options; and,
Make informed retirement decisions in real time.

3. Financial Wellness Reimagined: Empowering the Pre-Retiree

2026 also will experience significant growth in financial wellness programs focusing on pre-retiree education and income planning.

Employers will increasingly take on the responsibility of preparing older workers for retirement by offering comprehensive pre-retirement programs that include:

Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled personalization of retirement income projections and spending estimates;
Education on Social Security and Medicare elections;
Retirement paycheck modeling that helps participants visualize income from multiple asset sources; and,
Tax- and budget-aware withdrawal planning tools.

AI will become a key driver of personalization, allowing plan participants to simulate various income and longevity scenarios. These improved pre-retirement programs, often offered through digital and virtual coaching, will help make the transition to retirement more predictable, confident and financially secure.

4. Expanding Access: The Growth of New Workplace Plans

In 2026, significant progress is expected to persist in expanding access to workplace retirement savings, particularly among small businesses and emerging employers.

Key catalysts include:

Fintech-powered recordkeeping platforms that bring low-cost scalability to small employers;
Positive legislative and regulatory incentives, as mandated in the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Acts;
The continued growth of multiple-employer plans (MEPs) and pooled-employer plans (PEPs) that streamline administration and fiduciary oversight; and,
Increased awareness of individual retirement accounts (IRAs) driven by state auto-enrollment programs, prompting small employers to adopt their own qualified plans, and for those that do not, enrolling employees in state-sponsored auto-IRA programs.

Together, these developments will widen the reach of the DC system and help close the coverage gap, especially for gig-economy and small-business workers who have traditionally lacked access to formal retirement savings options.

5. Policy and Regulatory Evolution: Income, Alternatives and Fiduciary Relief

2026 also is expected to be a pivotal year for regulatory progress. Policymakers are considering actions that would expand the use of alternative investments within DC plans and clarify how such investments (e.g., private credit, private real estate and infrastructure) can complement traditional allocations — likely as part of investment strategies in broader managed portfolios that include target date funds, managed accounts and other multi-asset class portfolios.

At the same time, regulatory reforms could expand fiduciary relief and establish new safe harbors for plan sponsors implementing in-plan retirement income solutions, especially those with guaranteed income features.

The Makings of a Memorable Year

The upcoming year will be crucial for speeding up innovation and adoption, transforming workplace retirement savings programs into a comprehensive solution. Enhancing the digital experience, increasing access to workplace plans, improving pre-retirement education and clarifying regulations all will help boost adoption and improve the long-term financial security of American workers.

If these forecasts hold to be true, 2026 will be remembered as the year when:

The industry moved from curiosity to commitment;
In-plan retirement income became a reality, not just a possibility; and,
The idea of lifetime income was integrated into the fundamental design of modern DC plans.

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