Nuveen & TIAA new research: International markets show frictionless guaranteed income integration is critical to guided retirement success

London, 16 September 2026 -Guaranteed income can be successfully integrated into UK guided retirement solutions without mandating annuitisation, according to new international research from Nuveen and the TIAA Institute¹. The research found eligible retiree adoption rates of 55%-60% in markets where lifetime income is built into the retirement journey.

The research,"Beyond auto-enrolment: International lessons for converting UK retirement savings into lifetime income", draws on research from some of the UK's largest pension schemes, alongside evidence from eleven countries, with particular focus on Switzerland, Chile and TIAA's own century of experience with voluntary annuitisation in the US.

• Integrate lifetime income while preserving choice: international evidence shows strong adoption can be achieved without a need for compulsion by integrating income into the process for accessing retirement savings.
• Make guaranteed income frictionlessclear communications, transparent pricing, robust infrastructure and strong governance will be critical to member confidence.
• Engage savers at or near retirement: evidence shows members are most likely to make guaranteed income decisions within a year of retirement. A single active decision to accept the default pension benefit solution should be enough to trigger automatic guaranteed income conversion later, without requiring a separate decision, unless the member opts out.
• Improve consolidation and comparison: better pot visibility and ease of consolidation, including through the Pensions Dashboard, will help savers compare options and make informed decisions.
• Set realistic expectations: early adoption may be modest as the UK system matures, but this should not be mistaken for failure.

The report identifies five priorities for policymakers, providers and trustees as the UK moves from pension policy design to implementation:

Set realistic expectations: early adoption may be modest as the UK system matures, but this should not be mistaken for failure.

Looking beyond the success of auto-enrolment in expanding workplace pension participation, the research draws on international experience to examine how policymakers, providers and trustees can convert accumulated pension savings into lasting retirement security.

With the 2026 Pension Schemes Act requiring providers to offer default pension benefit solutions, and Collective Defined Contribution legislation moving from concept to delivery, the industry now faces an immediate design challenge: how to turn accumulated pension savings into dependable retirement income at scale. The reform also points to an important shift in the way retirement solutions are designed, with defaults becoming an increasingly important mechanism for helping members navigate complex decisions at retirement.

International evidence suggests that integration, rather than mandating, can achieve meaningful rates of guaranteed income adoption. This supports an approach in which the decision to adopt the default pathway also empowers the automatic conversion into guaranteed income at the appointed time, while preserving member choice through a clear and accessible opt-out.

Switzerland and Chile have demonstrated that integrating guaranteed income into the process for accessing retirement savings can achieve annuitisation rates of 55%-60% among eligible retirees without compulsion.

Factors such as ease of account consolidation, clarity of communications, transparency of pricing and behavioural considerations were identified as clear drivers of guided retirement success.

Figures from TIAA's own membership in the United States also show that 80%-95% of members who choose to annuitise are doing so within a year of retirement, despite retaining the option to defer decisions around guaranteed income². This highlights the importance of engaging savers at the point when they first decide how to access their retirement assets.

Harriet Steel, Global Head of Institutional Distribution at Nuveen, said: " For pension schemes and providers, there is an opportunity to draw on this international evidence now, to refine product design and default architecture as proposals take shape. For policymakers, the message is one of confidence, with the evidence suggesting that patience, consolidated pots and clear messaging will allow the UK to build something genuinely world-class. Nuveen is proud to support that journey, and this report reflects our commitment to bringing global evidence to bear on a distinctly British opportunity."

The report highlights the dual challenge for UK providers of developing compelling new decumulation products, whilst encouraging a traditionally liquidity-focused population to convert part of their pension savings into guaranteed income.

TIAA's data suggests that initial adoption rates are likely to be very modest, particularly given the UK's starting point of fully voluntary annuitisation and fragmented pension pots. The report makes clear that low initial uptake should not be interpreted as failure of the model, pointing to international evidence that new retirement models take time to gain traction as savers, providers and policymakers become familiar with them.

Sophie Ballard, Head of UK Institutional Distribution at Nuveen, said: "The UK is at a point of inflection, as we move from a period of policy design into implementation. We believe that products which can seamlessly embed income, ideally guaranteed income, will be best suited to supporting savers through the accumulation to decumulation transition and to turn pension wealth into income they can rely on throughout retirement."

"The evidence is broadly encouraging, showing that integration rather than mandation can achieve meaningful rates of guaranteed income adoption, aligning well with the UK's guided retirement approach. But our research also shows that meaningful change takes time. As an industry, we must recognise this and allow schemes and providers the space to adapt, embed new approaches and become accustomed to new initiatives."

Catherine Reilly, Head of Applied Research and Activation at the TIAA Institute, said: " What struck me most in collating this research was how consistent the evidence is across such different systems. Switzerland, Chile and TIAA's own century of experience in the US all point to the same conclusion: when you remove friction, meaningful numbers of people choose guaranteed income. Middle income earners - exactly who we would expect - are the most likely annuitants in all these cases. Our own data shows the vast majority of annuitisation decisions happen within a year of retirement, which should give UK providers real confidence about where to focus their design effort as guided retirement takes shape."