chose the best pension plan and do their own research and arrive on the best default or take advice from someone clever and get something which was bespoke. My tailor thinks the same way about my suits except I go to M & S because I can't afford the time and money he requires from me. The problem with default options is when we trust them and they turn out be rubbish. Which is what I think will happen with the guarantee'd approach being floated. If you are prepared to sacrifice growth potential for certainty of outcome, perhaps the guaranteed option is for you though I'm still unsure that many people have that luxury. Guaranteed poverty or potential to have a decent income (with the downside of slightly greater poverty) Defined benefits would love to lock down their uncertainty by buying guarantees (buy-out) but the cost is too high for the company. Similar trade-off ; guaranteed pension and redundancies/business closure v future jobs and ongoing pension defecits. If you believe we are in for a 20 year Japanese style slump then you will probably be opting for a bond based approach to pension funding from the start of the lifecycle but I don't think that is a "default position"