--- title: The Retirement Plan That Creates Real Financial Control description: New research shows that retirees with an annuity and other retirement investments like an IRA or 401(k) report better lifestyles. authors: - name: Mary Ellen Cagnassola role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/ bio: Mary Ellen (M.E.) Cagnassola is a former Money reporter specializing in Social Security and retirement coverage, with a focus on making complex policy accessible to readers. education: Rutgers University, BA Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 205 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes former_staff: true editors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2025-12-22T15:49:43.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News - Retirement word_count: 658 canonical: https://money.com/retirement-plan-blended-control/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![The Retirement Plan That Creates Real Financial Control](https://money.com/content.money.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/News-Blended-Income-Strategy-Could-Land-Better-Retirement.jpg?crop=0px%2C191px%2C2880px%2C1620px&resize=1012%2C569&quality=85&strip&ssl=1) Blending doesn’t just make for a tasty smoothie — it can also lead to a better lifestyle in retirement, according to a new study. In [retirement](https://money.com/retirement-savings-increase-2023/), some people choose to have blended income, or a combination of investments like [401(K)s](https://money.com/what-is-a-401k-rollover/) and fixed [annuities](https://money.com/what-are-annuities/), which provide a guaranteed income stream in retirement. Investment bank Goldman Sachs’ [annual retirement report](https://www.gsam.com/content/gsam/us/en/advisors/about-gsam/news-and-media/2023/goldman-sachs-asset-management-retirement-report.html) found that retirees who adopted a blended income strategy tended to be more satisfied with their income. [Retirees](https://money.com/retirees-work-affect-social-security/) with this kind of blended income also showed higher levels of confidence making the transition into retirement compared to those with only an investment or an annuity alone. ## Long-Term Care Insurance allows you to know that you and your loved ones are financially protected as you age ### Regular health insurance, disability insurance, and Medicare are not designed to cover long-term care costs. Get Long-Term Care Insurance today - select your state to get a free quote. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/b569008ea8c5?ap_referrer=%2Fretirement-plan-blended-control%2F&url=%2Flong-term-care-insurance%2Flp%2Fbest-long-term-care-insurance-money) ***Deal of the Week: [AARP Subscription for Just $15 a Year](https://money.com/pr/q11022f27ca6?data-trk-company=aarp-review&data-trk-imp=true&data-trk-pcu-type=direct_link&data-trk-pcu-uuid=q11022f27ca6&encoded_id=)*** ## How does blended income work in retirement? Employer-sponsored retirement plans and other investments, such as 401(k)s and [IRAs](https://money.com/best-roth-ira/), have become increasingly essential to planning for retirement. Fixed-rate annuities, which are typically funded years in advance in a lump sum or multiple payments, are another popular option. Fixed annuities offer guaranteed income when a worker retires, either in a monthly, quarterly, semiannual or annual payment, for the rest of the contract holder’s life. In other words, annuities are essentially like a regular paycheck in retirement that you can collect alongside monthly [Social Security payments](https://money.com/social-security-ssi-september-payments/) and other income. Combining a 401(k) with an annuity allows retirees to reap the benefits of an investment that produces capital gains and one that produces a steady, fixed income stream — aka “blended” income. ***Gold Offer: [Sign up with American Hartford Gold today and get a free investor kit, plus receive up to $20,000 in free silver on qualifying purchases](https://money.com/pr/u3ef79664b8e)*** ## Better lifestyle and more confidence in retirement - In a survey that included about 1,600 retired respondents between 50 and 75 years old, respondents with blended income reported higher levels of income satisfaction. Thirty-five percent with blended income reported being very satisfied with their income, while 26% with only annuity income and 24% with only investment income said the same. - Overall, almost 60% of blended-income retirees reported a better [retirement lifestyle](https://money.com/retire-comfortably-amount-needed/) compared to their pre-retirement years than those with only an investment (49%) or an annuity (49%). - More retirees (79%) with blended income reported feeling confident going into retirement compared to 75% of those with only investments and 68% who only had an annuity. ***Extra Money: [See how you can get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new active SoFi invest account](https://money.com/pr/x00f9061e638)*** ## Get the care you will need after age 65 ### 70% of people 65+ will require long-term care. A Long-Term Care Insurance policy makes the process easier by helping you pay for the care you need in your golden years. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/k696436a32ba?ap_referrer=%2Fretirement-plan-blended-control%2F&url=%2Flong-term-care-insurance%2Flp%2Fabm-pub-best-ltc-insurance) ## Pros and cons of annuities On the whole, having multiple income streams in a [retirement](https://money.com/retirement-saving-age-1-million/) portfolio seems to offer retirees more than just peace of mind. The majority of blended-income retirees are enjoying retirement more than those who only have investments or annuity income. What’s more, the guarantee of lifetime income provided by annuities can help protect retirees from outliving their savings. But there are [drawbacks to annuities](https://money.com/life-insurance-vs-annuity-explained/), like expensive upfront sales fees and annual fees between 1% and 3% of the annuity price, according to insurance company Nationwide. Annuities also aren’t liquid, so if a contract holder tries to withdraw money within the first few years, they’re subject to a “surrender" fee that reduces the value of their investment. You also have to pay taxes and fees on annuity income because it’s regarded the same way as the earnings you receive while you’re working. The Goldman Sachs report shows that many Americans are struggling with a “financial vortex,” or competing costs like [swelling debt](https://money.com/strategies-to-escape-credit-card-debt/), higher education and [student loans](https://money.com/student-loans/) that make it difficult to save for retirement at all. Of 3,700 working respondents surveyed, about 1 in 5 said these competing financial priorities will delay their retirement by at least four years. *Editor's note: Money originally published this article on September 22, 2023.* ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/1402/medium_fWrleDLaHsZEAmRdSdadlEauvRehdv.png) Getting Long-Term Care Insurance allows you to know that you're protected as you age [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/be10e253227a?ap_referrer=%2Fretirement-plan-blended-control%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-plan-blended-control/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Annuity", "item": "https://money.com/annuity/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Retirement Plan That Creates Real Financial Control" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-plan-blended-control/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/retirement-plan-blended-control/", "name": "The Retirement Plan That Creates Real Financial Control", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2025-12-22T15:49:43.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-plan-blended-control/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-plan-blended-control/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "The Retirement Plan That Creates Real Financial Control", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/09/News-Blended-Income-Strategy-Could-Land-Better-Retirement.jpg?quality=85", "width": 2880, "height": 1920 } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Ellen Cagnassola", "url": "https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/#author", "description": "Mary Ellen (M.E.) 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