Fidelity, Vanguard and BlackRock are all adding annuities to 401(k) plans — betting retirees want pension-like income

If you crave more predictability when you retire, a trending 401(k) plan option could be the answer to your prayers.​

More of America's largest investment firms are shaking up the standard target-date fund model to offer guaranteed lifetime returns. Traditionally, these 401(k)s simply transferred your growth-oriented stocks into bonds as you approached retirement. With this new breed of 401(k)s, however, you get to add a popular life insurance product to your portfolio: Annuities.

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Fidelity is the latest investment firm to introduce this new way to save with Freedom Lifetime (1). Set for a 2027 debut, this fund starts out as a standard target-date fund, but it gives retirees the option to roll those savings into annuities from New York Life and Nationwide for guaranteed lifetime income.

In a press release about the announcement, Molly Cunningham (1), Fidelity's head of workplace lifetime financial help, said, "Our priority was to maximize the value of lifetime income while keeping the participant and plan sponsor experience simple and easy to adopt."

Although Fidelity's offering is making headlines, it's actually late to the guaranteed-savings game. Vanguard announced its Target Retirement Lifetime Income Trusts at the end of 2025 (2), and BlackRock has a similar strategy called LifePath Paycheck (3).