Voya Financial is teaming up with BlackRock to give retirement savers something many 401(k) plans still don’t—an easy, built-in path to guaranteed income in retirement.

The insurer and recordkeeper announced today that BlackRock’s LifePath Paycheck® solution is now available on Voya’s recordkeeping platform for qualifying employer-sponsored plans. The product lets participants convert part of their retirement savings into a predictable, lifetime income stream backed by insurers selected by BlackRock.

Retirement Income Gets Real

The idea is straightforward: turn part of your portfolio into something that behaves more like a pension. That’s no small draw at a time when—according to Voya’s own research—75% of working Americans worry about outliving their savings.

“Adding LifePath Paycheck is another meaningful step in helping individuals retire with greater confidence and flexibility,” said Amy Vaillancourt, president of Retirement at Voya.

BlackRock launched LifePath Paycheck in April 2024, and it already reaches more than 350,000 U.S. workers with over $22 billion in assets. By embedding it into Voya’s platform, plan sponsors can offer the feature alongside existing investment menus without overhauling their plans.

Not Just a Product—A Digital Nudge

Plans adopting LifePath Paycheck also get BlackRock’s MyLifePath® digital experience, integrated directly into Voya’s participant portal. The tool educates workers about lifetime income options, runs personalized projections, and walks them through converting part of their savings into guaranteed payments.

It’s the kind of UX-focused addition retirement tech has been slow to embrace, but which could be critical in making these products more than a “set it and forget it” choice.

A Bigger Shift in the Industry

The move fits into a broader push to bring annuities and other income guarantees into mainstream defined contribution plans—a trend accelerated by the SECURE Act’s regulatory green light. Competitors like Fidelity, Empower, and Principal have launched similar offerings, but the combination of Voya’s distribution scale and BlackRock’s target-date pedigree could give LifePath Paycheck a strong market position.

As BlackRock’s Rob Crothers put it: “Helping people achieve better retirement outcomes is our core business. LifePath Paycheck provides the choice to receive a predictable, guaranteed income stream throughout retirement.”

For workers facing the uncertainty of market-based withdrawals, that choice might be the closest thing left to an old-school pension.