The chance for retirement income security canbe improved depending on the withdrawal strategy — or strategies —used when plan participants start to draw on their benefits.However, the participants’ goals can affect which strategy providesthe best results for their particular situation.

Those are some of the findings in a paper from the TIAA Institute, which examined three strategies — aguaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit, a systematic withdrawal,and a partial variable immediate annuity — and concluded that whileeach offer advantages, none are able to satisfy all the goals ofall retirees, despite attempts bymany retirement products within each category to do just that.Instead, a combination provides the best results for the greatestnumber.

Retirees, the paper says, “desire products that provideretirement security, inflation protection, liquidity, asset growthand the potential for an estate.” However, some of these goalsactually conflict with others, making it impossible to fulfill allthose goals in ways that are satisfactory to retirees.