2020 iscoming faster than we realize. And retirement planning will bedifferent then. Here's why.

Consider this: Just 45 years ago, there was no such thing as anIRA.

The 401(k) will turn 40 next year. Health savingsaccounts aren't even 15 years old.

The point is, retirement planning has changed drasticallyover the last fifty years, and workers' options continue to evolveyear after year.

When the 401(k) system began replacing pension plans in 1978,planning responsibility began moving from the employer to the individual.

As we look ahead to 2020 and beyond, that trend is likely tocontinue: The onus is on the individual to think ahead and makeinformed plans to prepare for retirement.

Educating yourself has never been more important. Flip throughthis slideshow for a forecast of what retirement planning couldlook like in the next few years.

1. The Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule, no matter theoutcome, will likely encourage fiduciary responsibility.

The DOL Fiduciary Rule—whether it's fully implemented or not—isbringing attention to the financial advisor's duty to offer advicethat works in the client's best interest.

No matter what happens in legislation, publicity around the ruleis drawing attention to the concept of fiduciary responsibility.Expect to see both automated, technology-led 401(k) services andfinancial advisors working side-by-side, acting in the bestinterest of the consumer.

2. Technology's role could make managing—and maximizing—a401(k) easier.

Technology has infiltrated every corner of the consumer's life,making everyday tasks easier.

Similarly, there is an expectation that 401(k) solution shouldbe elegant and effortless to use, yet extremely sophisticated andpowerful under-the-hood.

Technology-led 401(k) plans will help employees seamlesslyset-up their accounts, adopt the right participant levels andsavings behaviors, which drives retirement readiness.

3. Technology could give employees access to better retirementeducation.

Technology-led 401(k)s and automated investment platforms willcontinue to pave the way for consumers to receive less biasedretirement advice and improved tools for education.

Investment professionals understand that retirement planning isextremely confusing for consumers and see the need for moreaccessible education. However, as it stands, traditional approachesto employee education fall short.

Annual information sessions, the typical backbone of employers'401(k) education efforts, are only effective for 20 percent ofemployees, according to a recent Forrester report.

In the future, more employers will likely embrace digitalapproaches to education that can provide targeted information andguidance to employees when and where it's needed. Digital educationcould allow employees access 24/7 to the retirement informationthey are looking for, as well as more immediate access to financialadvisors to get their questions answered.

4. HSAs could play a larger role in overall retirementreadiness.

According to Devenir, Health Savings Accounts(HSAs)—the tripled tax advantaged savings vehicle for people withhigh-deductible health plans—now total more than $34.7 billion inassets.

And what most people with HSAs don't realize is that by savingand investing HSA funds over time, they build yet anotherretirement readiness vehicle.

HSA contributions have significant tax advantages because moneyis deposited, grows and can be applied to qualified medicalexpenses, all tax-free. Because HSAs only entered the marketplacein 2003—and many people use their HSA funds on medicalexpenses—only about 4.7 billion assets are invested for long-termgrowth (i.e. potential retirement use).

In the future, you can expect more people to catch on to thisrising trend, especially for folks with fewer immediate medicalexpenses or more cash on hand to pay deductible costs up front anduse the HSA for qualified medical expenses during retirement.

5. State-sponsored retirement plans could provide new savingsopportunities for people with less income.

Looking further ahead for clues about how retirement could bechanging, the possibility of government-sponsored retirement plansin certain states may be on the horizon. Seven different states have moved to supportlow-income workers' retirement savings by legislating new publicretirement plans.

While these recent legislative actions are currently in limbodue to federal pushback, they do signal that the political willexists for more government backing for individual retirementsavings. If introduced, government-sponsored retirement plans coulddramatically increase the number of people enrolled in retirementsavings, offering new investment options for people with fewertotal assets to invest.

6. The Retire Act could reduce costs for the retirementindustry

Currently, in many 401(k) programs, snail-mail is the defaultmethod for receiving a statement, and employees usually have toopt-in to receive the statements electronically.

If passed, The Receiving Electronic Statements To ImproveRetiree Earnings Act, also known as the Retire Act, would changethat process, making e-statements the default method.

The savings from going paperless could be passed to consumers inthe form of lower expenses. According to the same research by theSPARK Institute, the RETIRE Act could save theretirement industry around $200 to $500 million a year, which coulddirectly benefit individual plan participants.