TIAA’s FUTUREWISE Put Spotlight on Bold Action Needed to Secure American Workers’ Retirement

The challenge: three critical gaps

In a fireside chat with Barron's Global Head of Wealth and Asset Management Jack Otter, TIAA President and CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett outlined three retirement gaps threatening 45% of American householdsⁱ:

• The Access Gap: 59 million private-sector workers lack employer-sponsored retirement plansⁱⁱ
• The Savings Gap: Even with access, workers aren't saving enough
• The Guarantee Gap: The shift from pensions to 401(k)s leaves workers without guaranteed lifetime income, risking they'll outlive their savings

The call to action

Coming out of the event, TIAA is calling on the retirement ecosystem, made up of asset managers, consultants, recordkeepers, plan sponsors, policymakers, employers and employees, to:

• Champion auto-enrollment and auto-escalation to ensure America’s workers achieve full savings potential.
• Embed lifetime income in default investment options to protect workers from outliving their savings.
• Support Qualified Payout Options (Q-PON) legislation encouraging DC plan sponsors to offer participants income payout options at retirement.
• Prioritize longevity literacy education so workers understand how to maximize savings through retirement.

Identifying solutions

TIAA's newly released white paper, "Closing the Guarantee Gap," maps out essential federal reforms to address these challenges: encouraging DC plans to offer qualified payout options (Q-PONs) with guaranteed lifetime income, expanding investment access by extending collective investment trusts to 403(b) plans, and mandating longevity literacy education. Read more about the latest research.

On the state front, a new analysis from TIAA Institute, "50 States of Retirement: The Common Thread," provides a roadmap for state policymakers and pension administrators to help state workers achieve an 80% pre-retirement income replacement benchmark. The analysis reveals that while most DB plans paired with Social Security meet the 80% benchmark for low earners, only one-third meet it for higher earners. Learn more about the path forward.

Read on for a look at the conversations from FUTUREWISE.

Panel highlights

Living Longer, Planning Better

The Challenge: 75% of Millennials underestimate their lifespan by a decade or more.ⁱⁱⁱ With 11,000 Baby Boomers reaching retirement daily, many face 25-30 year retirements with insufficient planning.

Key Insight: TIAA is reimagining wealth management for "accidental millionaires," or those who’ve accumulated wealth but lack sophisticated guidance. Outcome-focused, life-stage advice transforms individual challenges into economic resilience.

From Learning to Save to Learning to Spend

The Challenge: We've automated saving but left retirees to navigate complex decumulation decisions alone. Most struggle to spend even when they can afford to.

Key Insight: In-plan annuities offer a solution—80% of employers without them are actively considering adding one.^iv They cost less than retail, are vetted by fiduciaries, and allow gradual accumulation through payroll deduction, with more than $100 billion in lifetime income assets now in defaults.^v

Breaking Barriers: New Paths to Lifetime Income

The Challenge: While 401(k) plans democratized saving, most retirees lack guaranteed income for true financial security.

Key Insight: DC plans can deliver retirement security without sacrificing portability. Smart plan design incorporating the best of both pension and 401(k) systems overcomes participant inertia.

AI-Powered Personalization: Transforming How Americans Engage with Their Retirement Plans

The Challenge: As AI becomes integral to Americans' everyday decision-making, retirement leaders must decide how to best meet participants where they are in an AI-powered world.

Key Insight: AI can deliver unprecedented personalization across all life stages—from engaging Gen Z workers early to helping older participants navigate cognitive decline and fraud prevention. Success requires practical applications that make retirement planning accessible while overcoming barriers around data privacy, algorithmic bias, and participant trust.

Retirement Policy Power Hour

The Challenge: Following the success of SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0, the retirement industry needs continued bipartisan momentum to close gaps threatening millions of American workers.

Key Insight: Retirement security remains a truly bipartisan priority. When 45% of Americans risk running short of money in retirement, inaction is not an option. Rep. Richard Neal announced he will reintroduce his Auto-IRA bill by year-end, requiring businesses with 10+ employees to offer workplace retirement plans with automatic enrollment.