At a glance
- The preference and ownership figures sit 62 percentage points apart.
- One reading — an inference, not something the survey reports — is that a monthly check for life carries intuitive appeal even when the contract that would deliver it is only partly understood.
- The published results also do not break down annuity ownership by plan type, so they do not establish how much of the 23% sits in an employer plan and how much was bought outside one.
A Harris Poll survey for Athene found that 85% of workers aged 40 to 61 rate guaranteed monthly income as appealing, while 23% report owning an annuity.
The same poll found a wider split on comprehension: 34% of respondents said they mostly or fully understood annuities, and 54% said they knew very little or only somewhat understood them.
The preference and ownership figures sit 62 percentage points apart. That is arithmetic on the two published shares, not a finding, and the poll results do not say whether respondents were asked why they do not own an annuity. One reading — an inference, not something the survey reports — is that a monthly check for life carries intuitive appeal even when the contract that would deliver it is only partly understood.
The published results also do not break down annuity ownership by plan type, so they do not establish how much of the 23% sits in an employer plan and how much was bought outside one. That split is the one a plan sponsor or recordkeeper would want in hand before reading an ownership number against a lifetime-income menu.
Reported by The Wrap desk from Internal newsroom data basis (Harris Poll for Athene results). Published . Updated Oct 28, 2026 · 2:57 p.m. ET. Corrections