Peak 65: A WealthTech Strategy Partners Theme of the Decade

In 2026, the United States will hit a demographic milestone that’s been decades in the making: more people will turn 65 next year than in any other time in history.

This moment, often referred to as Peak 65, represents the apex of the Baby Boomer generation entering traditional retirement age. According to the Protected Retirement Income and Planning Study (PRIP), approximately 4.1 million Americans will turn 65 each year at the peak, a staggering figure with wide-ranging implications.

For the wealth management industry, Peak 65 is not just a population statistic. It's a signal, a tipping point, a market opportunity, and a challenge. Here’s what it means and how the industry is evolving to meet the needs of this grouping of Americans.

The Stakes: Why Peak 65 Matters

Unprecedented Demand for Retirement Income Solutions

The traditional approach to retirement, accumulating assets and slowly drawing them down, no longer meets the needs of many investors. A 2022 report from the Insured Retirement Institute found that only 26% of Baby Boomers are confident they have enough saved for retirement, underscoring the urgency for income-generating solutions.

WealthTech firms are responding by rethinking decumulation. Solutions that offer predictable, sustainable income, such as managed payout funds, dynamic withdrawal strategies, and personalized retirement planning tools, are growing rapidly. Providers are starting to blend behavioral finance and real-time analytics to help advisors optimize retirement outcomes.

The Rise of Annuities and Fiduciary-Friendly Income Tools

Annuities have long carried a mixed reputation, but that’s changing. In part due to updated fiduciary standards and product innovation, fee-based annuities and commission-free options are gaining ground. Firms have recently brought commission-free annuities into the RIA ecosystem, enabling advisors to offer guaranteed income options without conflicts of interest.

Annuities can also help tackle another retirement income challenges that is often, if not just about always, overlooked: longevity risk.

Tech-forward solutions are making annuities more accessible and transparent. Platforms are emerging that model lifetime income projections, assess product fit, and compare offerings across carriers. Expect this area to see accelerated growth as retirees prioritize income over growth in their portfolios.

A New Era for Fixed Income

The 2020s have ushered in a new rate environment. For the first time in over a decade, retirees can lock in relatively attractive yields from treasuries, muni-bonds, and other fixed income instruments. WealthTech platforms are racing to offer better access, education, and portfolio management capabilities in this domain.

Innovations like direct indexing for bonds, automated laddering strategies, and smart cash management, often paired with tax optimization tools, are bringing institutional-level fixed income strategies to the mass affluent market.

The Fight for 401(k) Rollovers and Liquidating Assets

While many firms like to focus on “The Great Wealth Transfer”, we also strongly encourage firms to focus on what Chip Roame calls “The Great Liquidation.” As people retire, they perhaps look to rollover their 401(k)s, sell the family business, downsize their house, etc. Making a play for those assets could very well be served with a cleaver retirement income proposal. It’s true that fewer people are retiring at 65 these days, but it is still a psychological milestone for many that likely gets them thinking.

With trillions of dollars sitting in workplace retirement plans, the post-retirement rollover market has become a battleground. According to Cerulli Associates, more than $500 billion is expected to roll over from 401(k) plans next year and it should increase after that. The firms that can best capture, retain, and manage these flows stand to gain enormous scale.

WealthTech platforms are positioning themselves at this intersection:

Digital advice platforms are using automation, personalized planning, and UX-driven design to attract rollover accounts.
Wealth management OS platforms are enhancing capabilities for complex wealth and estate planning as older investors transition assets.
Cash solutions are helping firms retain assets by offering insured, high-yield cash products that compete with money market funds.
Digital platforms that allow advisors to scale their advice over a 401k population, effectively becoming the “advisor of first resort”
Platforms that allow advisors to help bring a privately owned business into a unified financial plan, courting the small business owner

Strategic Implications for the Industry

Peak 65 is not a single-year phenomenon, it represents the beginning of a multi-decade shift in client needs and firm strategy. For advisors, banks, WealthTechs, and asset managers, the following areas demand focus:

Personalization at scale: Retirement income needs are deeply personal. WealthTech must integrate data (health, spending, goals) to generate more tailored advice.
Hybrid advice models: Combining human expertise with tech-driven planning will be key to scaling retirement readiness.
Regulatory clarity: As fiduciary standards evolve, firms that align early with best practices will gain trust—and market share.
Retirement as a platform: Expect to see end-to-end retirement platforms emerge with strategies that approach planning, income generation, benefits advice, and legacy solutions in unique ways.

WealthTech was born in the accumulation era. Now, it must come of age in the decumulation era.

For more information on the Peak65 theme, as well as the other WealthTech Themes of the Decade, feel free to read WealthTech Strategy Themes for the Rest of the Decade.

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