Retirement income

Feeling confident about retiring is an essential part of participants’ financial well-being. Help them get there with our comprehensive retirement income approach.
  • Approach
  • Solutions
    Backed by 50 years of behavioral finance expertise and data-driven research, our approach to retirement income is uniquely positioned to help plan sponsors support and empower their participants to achieve retirement success.

    The retirement landscape for Americans

    11,000
    turn 65 every day¹
    55 %
    are concerned with financial security in retirement²
    8 in 10
    say their employer plan will be their largest source of income ³

    Our holistic approach

    We believe that no single product can meet the diverse retirement income needs of all participants. That’s why we provide a full spectrum of solutions—to enable sponsors to deliver the retirement benefits their employees deserve while strengthening their plan’s value and relevance in a changing landscape.

    Investment strategies

    Provide strategic asset allocation choices using our range of options to support participants’ spending goals.

    • Vanguard Target Retirement strategies
    • Core fixed income
    • Stable value and money market funds

    Explore our solutions

    Financial wellness and guidance

    Help participants translate their retirement assets into income with our financial wellness offer, including the Live Well in Retirement guide, and spending guidance tools. Plan sponsors can help their participants transition from an employment paycheck to a retirement plan paycheck.

    • Live Well in Retirement
    • Retirement Withdrawal Coach
    • Retirement plan paychecks

    Explore our solutions

    Access to annuities

    Support participants who want guaranteed income with access to out-of-plan annuities through the Hueler Income Solutions® platform. This enables individuals to obtain institutionally priced, competitive income annuity quotes from multiple insurance companies without conflict and bias.

    To learn more about Income Solutions and access through Vanguard’s participant experience, contact your representative.

    Advice

    Consider expert advice options that encompass all stages of the financial journey, up to and through retirement. Whether to use advice is not a onetime or irrevocable decision. We recognize that a participant’s needs will likely vary over time as their circumstances change.

    Explore our advice options

    Help give participants the best chance for retirement income success

    At Vanguard, we believe retirement success is about more than just saving enough. It’s also about living confidently and within your means once you get there.

    Using our retirement income platform, plan sponsors empower their participants to transition from saving to spending, offering flexible options that reflect their unique goals, financial situations, and retirement timelines.

    Whether through investment strategies, financial wellness and guidance, access to guaranteed income, or expert advice, we give plan sponsors the tools to help their retirees build income they can count on—without sacrificing control or clarity.

    Expert perspectives on retirement income

    The research behind our methodology and approach
    Article Image
    Mitigating the impact of life events on retirement readiness

    DC Retirement | July 30, 2025

    Article promoting new Vanguard research on impact of life events on target-date participants' retirement income sufficiency.

    Article Image

    Get ready for How America Retires

    You’ve heard of How America Saves, Vanguard’s flagship research. Soon you’ll have access to How America Retires, a new report that uses comprehensive data-based research to offer a complete view of the retirement landscape through the lens of defined contribution (DC) retirement plans.

    How America Retires shines a spotlight on participant saving trends and insights, along with plan design best practices, to help retirees make the life-changing transition from saving money to spending it.

    See more

    Want to talk about retirement income solutions for your plan?

    Already a client? Contact your representative today.
    Let's get in touch

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    Sources:

    1 Welcome to the Peak 65 Zone—A New Chapter in America's Retirement Landscape. Alliance for Lifetime Income, 2024. https://www.protectedincome.org/the-peak65/.
    2 Retirement Insecurity 2024: Americans’ Views of Retirement. National Institute on Retirement Security, 2024.
    3 Data from Invesco's 2021 DC language study, Watch Your Language, which included 997 U.S. large plan participants.

    For more information about Vanguard funds, visit or call 800-523-1036 to obtain a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information about a fund are contained in the prospectus; read and consider it carefullybefore investing.

    All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. There is no guarantee that any particular asset allocation or mix of funds will meet your investment objectives or provide you with a given level of income. Product guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

    Investments in Target Retirement Funds and Trusts are subject to the risks of their underlying funds. The year in the fund or trust name refers to the approximate year (the target date) when an investor in the fund or trust would retire and leave the workforce. The fund/trust will gradually shift its emphasis from more aggressive investments to more conservative ones based on its target date. The Income Trust/Fund and Income and Growth Trust have fixed investment allocations and are designed for investors who are already retired. An investment in a Target Retirement Fund or Trust is not guaranteed at any time, including on or after the target date.

    Vanguard Target Retirement Trusts are not mutual funds. They are collective trusts available only to tax-qualified plans and their eligible participants. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information should be considered carefully before investing. The collective trust mandates are managed by Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Vanguard Group, Inc.

    Advice services are provided by Vanguard Advisers, Inc., a registered investment advisor, or by Vanguard National Trust Company, a federally chartered, limited-purpose trust company.

    Hueler Investment Services, Inc., is a non-affiliated third party and does not compensate Vanguard. Access to annuities is offered through the Income Solutions platform and provided on a rollover (out-of-plan) basis. All views expressed by Hueler Investment Services, Inc., are their own. Product guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing company. Income Solutions® is a registered trademark of Hueler Investment Services, Inc., and used under license. United States Patent No. 7,653,560.