LIVONIA, Mich., Oct. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nearly half (46%) of DC plan participants with former plans are highly likely to open a rollover IRA in the next year, holding an average of $90,000 in former employer-sponsored retirement plan (ESRP) assets. The candidate pool is shifting to younger and more diverse cohorts, creating an opportunity for retirement plan providers to rethink when and how they engage participants about rollover options.
This is according to the latest DC Participant Planscape™ report from Cogent Syndicated by Escalent, which helps DC plan providers increase participant contributions and engagement, optimize financial wellness and retirement readiness, and attract rollover dollars.
The profile of rollover IRA candidates skewed younger in 2026, with Gen Z representation nearly doubling to 22% from 12% last year and Millennials rising to 44% from 37%. Likewise, there is greater representation from Black/African-American (25% vs. 15%) and Hispanic/Latino (21% vs. 17%) participants.
The latest research also reveals important behavioral and marketing distinctions. Younger, diverse cohorts are more amenable to rollover IRA education across different periods and experience a wider set of challenges compared with their older counterparts.
“Beyond job changes and open enrollment, Gen Z and Millennial participants are markedly more receptive to rollover IRA education when experiencing major life events like marriage, divorce or birth of a child or upon hitting key professional milestones,” said Sonia Davis, lead report author and senior product director in Escalent’s Cogent Syndicated division. “However, firms must also recognize that these cohorts are more likely to feel overwhelmed by paperwork, worry about making mistakes, and view the rollover process as confusing or time-consuming.”
Overcoming these rollover IRA barriers is critical for financial services providers vying to turn interest into action especially as competition from external firms continues to grow. More than one-fifth (22%) of participants, up from 14% in 2024 and 19% in 2025, now plan to roll assets to a brand-new, nonincumbent firm. In fact, Gen Z (33%) and Millennial (30%) participants voiced greater intent to open an IRA with another firm and roll the money into that account.
“Our research suggests younger participants are approaching rollover decisions with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension,” said Linda York, a senior vice president in Escalent’s Cogent Syndicated division. “As these generations become increasingly interested in rolling their assets, they have also become harder to keep in-house. To retain clients and capture rollover dollars, firms must proactively engage participants as their financial lives evolve and make rollover decisions easier to understand and act on—or risk losing the relationship they built to a competitor.”
About DC Participant Planscape™
Cogent Syndicated, a division of Escalent, conducted an online survey of a representative cross-section of 4,006 DC plan participants from July 7 to July 28, 2026. Survey participants were required to be 18 years or older and contribute at least 1% to a current plan and/or have $5,000 or more in at least one former plan. Targets were set to investor gender, region, age, education and household income using US census data filtered by the screening criteria (a market-sizing flyover survey was used to filter the US census data). The data have a margin of error of ±1.55% at the 95% confidence level. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.
About Escalent
Escalent is an AI-enabled market research and advisory partner with unmatched industry expertise. For 50 years, we have been catalysts of progress—turning a deep understanding of our clients’ worlds into smarter strategies and transforming human and market insight into decisive action that helps brands outthink disruption and accelerate growth. Following the acquisition of C Space and Hall & Partners in 2023, our 1,600-strong global team now offers a true one-stop shop for industry intelligence, customer insight and brand strategy. Headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, Escalent operates across the US and in Australia, Canada, China, India, Ireland, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, the UAE and the UK. Visit escalent.co to see how we are helping shape the brands that are reshaping the world.
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