This important relationship in global financial markets is falling apart ‘The autopilot that got you to retirement is a great start. Retirement is when you take the wheel,’ says one investment adviser. More than 70% of 401(k) plan participants are invested in target-date funds, according to 2026 data from the Investment Company Institute. /iStockphoto How long should you set it and forget it when it comes to your retirement plan?
Target-date funds are a mainstay of 401(k) plans and the default investment option for many workers. A target-date fund is a mix of investments that automatically adjusts over time, based on a chosen year like an expected retirement date, becoming more conservative as the account holder gets closer to retirement. Automatic enrollment has helped more workers get into the plans, and subsequent automatic increases in the percentage of earnings they save help keep them on track.
Copyright ©2026 MarketWatch, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8 ‘My husband suffered a massive stroke at 53’: I’m 64 and will rent for the rest of my life — but I’m still hopeful Micron and other chip stocks spring back to life after bruising selloff SpaceX’s stock made billions for college endowments. But their luck is about to run out.
Jessica Hall is a retirement reporter for MarketWatch. She was an Age Boom Academy Fellow at Columbia University and completed the Leadership Exchange on Ageism. She previously worked at Mainebiz, the Portland Press Herald and the Maine Sunday Telegram, where she and her team earned a Scripps Howard Award for Community Journalism for a series on aging.
She spent 17 years at , covering mergers and acquisitions, telecommunications, and airlines. She started her career in Baltimore at the Daily Record and the Baltimore Business Journal. She has also written for Barron’s and other publications.
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