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PARTICIPANT SENTIMENT RESEARCH

401(k) participant behavior: Knowledge and action

View summary

Equip sponsors to help drive readiness

As 401(k) plans have replaced traditional pensions¹, workers and retirees face increasingly complex decisions about converting savings into retirement income. In our view, securing that income throughout retirement has become the defining challenge of the defined contribution industry, with plan sponsors more focused than ever on helping participants prepare for life after work.

To help guide plan sponsors through these challenges, Nuveen collaborated with the TIAA Institute to survey over 2,100 participants about their retirement preparedness — exploring their longevity knowledge, withdrawal planning, and experiences with employer-provided tools. The findings reveal that many participants remain underprepared for the shift from saving to spending and are looking to their employers for help. This research highlights how plan sponsors can strengthen retirement readiness through enhanced resources, education, and plan design.

Chart illustrating participant behavior, knowledge, and actions in a 40q study context.

Interested in learning more? Access the full survey report.

View report

Dive deeper into the survey's three key findings

Too many 401(k) participants are planning in the dark

Chart1.In-Plan annuities

Key finding 1

Every 401(k) participant faces critical decisions about saving in their plan and converting those savings into retirement income. However, many participants don’t fully understand these and other retirement security topics and are often unsure how long retirement will last.

This underscores the need for employers to provide clear, robust education that strengthens understanding and supports better decision‑making.

Explore the Retirement Fluency questionnaire

There is a withdrawal planning gap

Chart2.Participants view retirement income security as a responsibility

Key finding 2

While about seven-in-10 participants say they have considered how they will withdraw money from their 401(k)s, far fewer have given these complex, high‑stakes decisions serious attention (only two-in-10).

Given this challenge, most participants believe employers should play an active role to help turn lifetime income concepts into actionable decisions.

Explore the key findings

The participant experience is critical

Chart3.Few participants have given retirement income a lot of thought

Key finding 3

Participants are taking advantage of employer-provided tools and resources for withdrawal planning, but access alone is not enough to inspire engagement—quality matters.

Not only are the most actively engaged participants distinguished by greater use of plan‑provided resources, but they consistently report a better experience while using them.

Employers can help participants move from limited withdrawal planning to thinking about it a lot by delivering intuitive, well‑communicated and integrated resources.

Explore the key findings

Interested in learning how plan sponsors can put these insights into action?

Retirement savings to retirement income: 401(k) participant perspectives

Learn why 401(k) participants view retirement security as a shared responsibility.

Explore more

nextAdvisor: retirement resource hub

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RETIREMENT

Nuveen partners with leading retirement plan advisors through the nextAdvisor Retirement Resource hub to share insights on lifetime income, plan design, and industry trends.

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Nuveen Retirement Investing sales desk

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¹Source: EBSA, 2025 ²Interactive tools give personalized and dynamic feedback based on the participant’s unique situation; non-interactive resources include educational resources that are not specific to the individual.

The views and opinions expressed are for informational and educational purposes only, as of the date of production/writing and may change without notice at any time based on numerous factors, such as market or other conditions, legal and regulatory developments, additional risks and uncertainties and may not come to pass. This material may contain “forward-looking” information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections, forecasts, estimates of market returns, and proposed or expected portfolio composition. Any changes to assumptions that may have been made in preparing this material could have a material impact on the information presented herein by way of example. All information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy is not guaranteed. There is no representation or warranty as to the current accuracy, reliability or completeness of, nor liability for, decisions based on such information and it should not be relied on as such.

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