Even for seasoned experts, finding the best retirement income product to help maximize participants' success – and encourage their involvement in the first place – can be a difficult prospect.

The Institutional Retirement Income Council, a non-profit think-tank supporting the retirement industry, has come up with a new brief that aims to help plan sponsors get a better overview of the options available and a way of evaluating what's best for their employees.

Their brief, "Retirement Income Products: Which One is Right for Your Plan?", provides an overall framework that can help employers sift through the major types of retirement income products available in the marketplace – and examine their individual merits.