Professors at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign believe defined contribution retirement plans are the best approach to solving the retirement crisis in the United States.

Policy changes, product innovations and improved plan design decisions by plan sponsors have made today's DC plans a much better retirement system than they were even 10 years ago, the study found.

To improve and expand coverage and participation in defined contribution plans, the authors, Jeffrey Brown and Scott Weisbenner, recommend improving incentives for employers to offer plans and to make part-time and recently hired workers eligible to participate. They also recommend boosting contribution rates through automatic enrollment and automatic escalation, which can result in higher savings rates.