From accumulation to decumulation: Why participant education must evolve

For more than two decades, automatic enrollment, automatic escalation, professionally managed investments, and target-date funds have transformed defined contribution plans. Participants are saving earlier, participating at higher rates, and accumulating larger account balances than previous generations.

Yet as retirement outcomes improve, a new challenge is emerging: Many participants have become successful savers without ever learning how to become successful retirees.

The retirement industry has largely solved for accumulation. The next frontier is helping participants navigate decumulation.

When success creates a new challenge

Automatic plan features have delivered meaningful progress for retirement savers. Participants can now move from enrollment into retirement with minimal ongoing engagement. While that has improved participation and savings outcomes, it has also created an unintended consequence: Many participants arrive at retirement with substantial balances but little understanding of how to turn those assets into sustainable income.

Corebridge Financial’s recent Decumulation Planning Gap study highlights the issue. The survey found that retirement is generally viewed positively, yet spending accumulated savings introduces uncertainty and hesitation. Retirement planning has prepared people to build wealth, but many remain unprepared and reluctant to use it.

The findings are striking:

• Only 28% of respondents said they are comfortable seeing their retirement savings decline to pay for living expenses.
• Nearly half reported feeling uncomfortable withdrawing assets for retirement spending.
• Only 31% were familiar with the term “decumulation.”
• Among pre-retirees aged 55 and older, just 29% had a withdrawal strategy in place.¹

The retirement paradox

Despite decades spent planning for retirement, many participants enter retirement without a clear framework for generating income, managing withdrawals, or maintaining spending confidence. According to the Corebridge study, 60% of retirees reported that their assets had either grown or remained stable during retirement. However, a majority still believed they could not have withdrawn more money without jeopardizing their long-term financial security.

This disconnect reflects an important reality: Retirement confidence is not determined solely by account balances; it is also driven by understanding. Participants often know how to save. They often know how to invest. What many do not know is how to spend.

Retirees may ask themselves:

• How much can I safely withdraw?
• Which accounts should I spend from first?
• How do I manage market volatility in retirement?
• How do I prepare for healthcare or long-term care expenses?
• How can I create reliable retirement income?

These questions are fundamentally different from the questions participants face during their working years.

Industry best practices: What Sauk Prairie Healthcare got right

The 2026 Eddy Award-winning program from Sauk Prairie Healthcare provides an example of what participant education can look like when retirement readiness becomes a year-round commitment rather than a one-time event.²

Recognizing that retirement readiness requires more than enrolling participants in a plan, Sauk Prairie Healthcare developed a comprehensive education strategy focused on helping employees prepare for key retirement decisions throughout their careers.

Rather than relying exclusively on plan design features, the organization emphasized ongoing education, personalized guidance, and practical retirement planning support that met employees where they were in their journey.

The lesson for plan sponsors is clear: Successful retirement outcomes require both thoughtful design and ongoing participant engagement.

Automatic features can place participants on the right path. Education helps them understand where the path is leading.

Decumulation education should start long before retirement

One of the most important findings from the Corebridge study is that participants who have a withdrawal strategy are significantly more confident about their retirement prospects.

Pre-retirees with a decumulation plan were approximately twice as likely to express high confidence in their ability to maintain financial security throughout retirement. Similar results were observed among retirees who had a spending strategy in place.

This suggests that retirement income education should not begin six months before retirement. It should become part of the participant experience years, if not decades, before retirement.

Plan sponsors routinely educate participants about:

• Enrollment
• Contribution rates
• Investment diversification
• Target-date funds
• Catch-up contributions

But they should also begin introducing concepts such as:

• Retirement income planning
• Withdrawal strategies
• Guaranteed income solutions
• Social Security claiming decisions
• Healthcare costs
• Longevity risk

A new definition of retirement readiness

Historically, retirement readiness has been measured by account balances, deferral rates, and replacement ratios.

Those metrics remain important. But the next generation of retirement readiness should also include measures of participant confidence and preparedness for decumulation.

A participant who has accumulated $1 million but lacks the confidence to use those assets may not feel retirement ready. Conversely, a participant with a clear spending strategy and realistic expectations may feel significantly more prepared.

The future of retirement plans will likely be defined not by helping participants accumulate more assets, but by helping them use those assets more effectively.

Key takeaways for plan sponsors:

• Automatic features have improved accumulation outcomes, but they do not prepare participants for retirement spending decisions.
• Many participants approach retirement without a withdrawal strategy or understanding of decumulation.
• Education programs should introduce retirement income concepts years before participants retire.
• Ongoing participant engagement can improve confidence and retirement decision-making.
• The next evolution of retirement readiness is helping participants transition from successful savers to confident spenders.

¹ “The Decumulation Planning Gap: Findings from a Survey of Americans Ages 45-79” Corebridge Financial, June 2026.
² “Eddy Award Story Winner: Sauk Prairie Healthcare.” Pensions & Investments, 2026.

The information contained herein is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice. Circumstances may change over time so it may be appropriate to evaluate strategy with the assistance of a financial professional. Federal and state laws and regulations are complex and subject to change.  Laws of a particular state or laws that may be applicable to a particular situation may have an impact on the applicability, accuracy, or completeness of the information provided. Janus Henderson does not have information related to and does not review or verify particular financial or tax situations, and is not liable for use of, or any position taken in reliance on, such information.