Research
Research library
Research worth an advisor's time from research firms, asset managers, regulators, central banks, academics and think tanks, each with a short summary in our own words, plus AdvisorIQ's own analysis.
As of Oct 8, 2026, the library lists 17 pieces on retirement income.
Titles marked with an arrow open on the publisher's site. How we choose.
Retirement income
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Restoring lifetime income to retirement plans as the default (opens brookings.edu)
The authors propose making partial annuitization the default payout in defined contribution plans, converting a share of larger balances into lifetime income unless the retiree opts out. They note only about 10% of such plans offer lifetime income options, and discuss why employers and retirees rarely choose it today.
Topic: Retirement incomebrookings.edu
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The Latest Projections from the Congressional Budget Office on Social Security Finances and Distribution of Benefits and Taxes (opens aei.org)
An AEI scholar summarizes CBO's 2026 long-term Social Security projections, which put the cut needed at trust fund exhaustion in 2032 at 26%, larger than the Trustees' 22%. He walks through CBO's lifetime benefit-to-tax ratios by birth year and earnings, and discusses means-testing benefits as one possible response.
Topic: Retirement incomeaei.org
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A behavioral case for annuities (opens troweprice.com)
T. Rowe Price researchers look at how retirees actually spend and find most try to preserve their savings: 78% say keeping a certain account balance matters, and real spending falls about 2.3% a year on average. They argue annuities may be better received when framed as a way to protect assets and lifestyle rather than only as longevity insurance.
Topic: Retirement incometroweprice.com
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Health Shocks and Annuity Choices (opens crr.bc.edu)
Using Swedish pension data, where an annuity is the default payout, this brief looks at how a cancer diagnosis changes payout choices. Diagnosed workers annuitize only slightly less, about 4 percentage points, far less than their shorter life expectancy would justify, and a lab experiment points to the default as the reason.
Topic: Retirement incomecrr.bc.edu
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Analysis of the 2026 Social Security Trustees' Report (opens crfb.org)
CRFB summarizes the 2026 Trustees' Report: the retirement trust fund is projected to run out in 2032, triggering a 22% benefit cut, and the 75-year shortfall grew to 4.42% of payroll. It attributes most of the deterioration to lower fertility and immigration assumptions and part to the 2025 law's reduced revenue from taxing benefits.
Topic: Retirement incomecrfb.org
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How to turn retirement savings into reliable income (opens corporate.vanguard.com)
Vanguard sets out a decision framework for turning savings into retirement income rather than a single prescribed strategy. It organizes the choices around purpose, covering essential costs with reliable income, managing withdrawals and taxes, and simplifying, and argues that sustainable income is a better measure of success than account balances.
Topic: Retirement incomecorporate.vanguard.com
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Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025 (opens federalreserve.gov)
The Fed Board's annual survey of household finances. Overall well-being held steady in 2025, but only 35% of non-retirees thought their retirement saving was on track, and lower-income, younger, Black and Hispanic adults and women remained less likely to have retirement accounts or pensions.
Topic: Retirement incomefederalreserve.gov
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2026 EBRI/Greenwald Retirement Confidence Survey (opens ebri.org)
The long-running annual survey of how confident American workers and retirees feel about paying for retirement. In 2026 confidence slipped for both groups, to about three in five workers and three in four retirees, with inflation, the cost of living and worries about changes to Social Security and Medicare weighing on views.
Topic: Retirement incomeebri.org
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How Annuities Could Improve Retirement Security amid Economic Uncertainty (opens urban.org)
Urban Institute researchers trace annuity ownership from 1989 to 2022 using Federal Reserve survey data. Annuity holders 50 and older had median net worth of $938,300 in 2022, more than twice that of nonholders, ownership peaked in 2004, and the authors cite fees, complexity and low awareness as lasting barriers.
Topic: Retirement incomeurban.org
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When Loss Aversion Jeopardizes Lifelong Income (opens pensionresearchcouncil.wharton.upenn.edu)
A research summary on why retirees avoid life annuities and favor costlier versions with money-back guarantees, which the piece says make up more than 60% of the US market. Life cycle modeling shows bequest motives alone do not explain the preference, while fear of losing the premium to an early death does.
Topic: Retirement incomepensionresearchcouncil.wharton.upenn.edu
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Projected Savings Medicare Beneficiaries Need for Health Expenses in Retirement up Again in 2025 (opens ebri.org)
EBRI updates its estimates of what a 65-year-old needs saved to cover Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket health costs. A man with supplemental coverage needs $120,000 for an even chance of covering costs and $212,000 for a 90% chance, women need more because they live longer, and couples with high drug costs face the largest targets.
Topic: Retirement incomeebri.org
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Guide to Retirement 2026 (opens am.jpmorgan.com)
J.P. Morgan's annual retirement chartbook covers saving, spending, Social Security, withdrawals and health care. It finds that six in 10 new retirees see volatile spending in their first three years, and that households with more guaranteed income spend more confidently.
Topic: Retirement incomeam.jpmorgan.com
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Solving the retirement income puzzle one piece at a time (opens troweprice.com)
Written for advisors, this piece frames retirement income planning around three questions: how much to spend, when couples should claim Social Security, and which accounts to draw from first. It cites T. Rowe Price research that two-thirds of pre-retirees do not know how much they can withdraw each month.
Topic: Retirement incometroweprice.com
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How Much Are Emergency Expenses for Retirees and Are They Prepared? (opens crr.bc.edu)
This brief measures surprise expenses for retired households and whether they hold enough cash to absorb them. A typical retiree household spends about 10% of income on unexpected costs in an ordinary year, two in five lack the cash to cover a year of them, and lower-income retirees are the most exposed.
Topic: Retirement incomecrr.bc.edu
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Spousal Social Security Claiming Decisions and the Financial Shock of Widowhood (opens nber.org)
This working paper asks how a husband's Social Security claiming age affects his widow's finances. Widowhood remains a large financial shock for older women, but a smaller one when the husband delayed claiming, because the survivor benefit carries over his delay credits.
Topic: Retirement incomenber.org
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What's a Safe Retirement Withdrawal Rate for 2026? (opens morningstar.com)
Morningstar's annual research on how much new retirees can spend from a portfolio, built on forward-looking return and inflation assumptions. The base case for a 30-year retirement is a 3.9% starting withdrawal rate, up from 3.7%, and retirees who accept spending swings can start near 6%.
Topic: Retirement incomemorningstar.com
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Social Security and Medicare Lifetime Benefits and Taxes: 2025 (opens urban.org)
The annual update of lifetime Social Security and Medicare benefits and payroll taxes for hypothetical workers by earnings and marital status. An average-wage single man retiring at 65 in 2025 is estimated to receive about $753,000 in lifetime benefits and a woman with the same earnings about $843,000, in 2025 dollars.
Topic: Retirement incomeurban.org
From AdvisorIQ
We have not published any articles of our own yet. When we do, they will be listed here, newest first, with the author and date on every piece.
Editorial
How we choose
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More in our editorial standards.