IT IS TIME to change the regulations so plan sponsors can readily offer to put part of their 401(k) plan's assets into annuities.

When Congress amended the U.S. Internal Revenue Code in 1978 to make 401(k)s feasible, the plans were expected to act only as a supplement to the defined benefit plans that were popular, and to be part of a three-pronged approach that included Social Security.

But times have changed, and it is time for the regulations to change with them. In the intervening years, many financially stressed employers have moved away from defined benefit plans, and 401(k) plans often are employees' sole retirement plan.

This leaves them, to a large extent, victims of the vagaries of the stock market, with its often dizzying ups and downs. Witness the many workers who must now put off their retirement indefinitely because of their devastated 401(k) plan assets.

And many workers are likely to welcome the prospect of a guaranteed future income stream upon their retirement.

Enabling plan sponsors to offer annuities as an integral part of their defined contribution plans will give many retirees a guaranteed stability their retirement finances may now lack, and which they deserve.

But regulatory changes to accomplish this are needed. The U.S. Departments of Labor and the Treasury are studying the issue. We hope they can come up with a way to make it easier for plan sponsors to do right by their retirees.