Back in the day – before the Boomers were called Boomers and before choice entererd the employee benefit lexicon– the standard retirement plan was a defined benefit pension plan. The employer was responsible for the investment of plan assets, and the employee received a monthly income at retirement.  Today the standard retirement plan is a 401(k) plan starting to embrace automatic enrollment, default funds, and an annuity distribution option. The more things change the more they look the same.