It's no secret that as the cost of guaranteed Defined Benefit (DB) plans increased for employers; new ways, such as Defined Contribution (DC) plans were created to reduce costs, and unfortunately are not guaranteed. But employees, in order to secure their retirement funds, are left to invest for themselves and ride the uncertainties of the markets.

A new report from TIAA, Separate facts from perception: The valuable role that in-plan annuities can play in retirement SECURE-ity, sheds light on how annuities can provide peace of mind for workers as they approach retirement.

In the modern era, life expectancy has increased dramatically. According to TIAA's 2022 dividend mortality tables, there is a 50% chance a single person age 65 will live to age 90 and about a 25% chance they will live to age 95. When you include a same age spouse or partner there is about a 45% chance that one member will live to age 95. Longer lives mean there is a need for a longer lasting retirement income. In 2020, 63% of Americans' qualified assets were in IRAs and DC plans, up from 48% in 2000. As a result, "it is no longer the case that the majority of American retirement assets are professionally managed for the explicit purpose of providing consistent, predictable lifetime income to last throughout retirement," says the report.