BlackRock, Inc. announced that its retirement income solution, LifePath Paycheck?, is now available in defined contribution plans. The LifePath Paycheck solution takes a new approach to retirement income by providing access to guaranteed income through a target date fund, an investment strategy that automatically adjusts to a targeted retirement year. Plan participants will have the option to access the guaranteed income as early as age 59 ½ by purchasing annuity contracts issued by Equitable and Brighthouse Financial.

To help educate plan participants, BlackRock developed MyLifePath?, a digital experience that shows how today's contributions can translate into income in retirement. Avangrid, Adventist HealthCare Retirement Plans, and Tennessee Valley Authority Retirement System will be among the first to implement the strategy as the default investment option for their employees? defined contribution plan, with additional plan sponsors to follow in the coming months.

To date, 14 plan sponsors, with plans totaling $27 billion in target date assets, are planning to make LifePath Paycheck available to 500,000 employees, with several other large plan sponsors expressing interest. Access to an option for guaranteed income could help alleviate the stress many Americans currently face about the uncertainty of outliving their savings. According to early findings from BlackRock?s ninth annual Read on Retirement?

survey, nearly two-thirds (60%) of those surveyed worry they?ll outlive their retirement savings and 99% say having guaranteed retirement income would help ease that concern. Beyond financial benefits, 93% 1 say having more certainty around retirement income would help their mental health today. Retirees agree ?

94% surveyed also believe employers should provide their employees with a retirement income solution through their workplace plan. Additionally, the survey found that 99% of plan sponsors feel responsible for helping plan participants generate and/or manage their income in retirement.