"In our most recent 'Participant Preferences' survey, we found that target date investors value a multimanager structure, allowing for a more diverse array of asset classes and investment managers, as well as a reduction in single manager risk," Jake Tuzza, head of intermediary distribution at Voya, said in a statement. He added, "This is a unique feature of our target date strategy."

Among the funds' other features is a blend of active and passive strategies, which ties into other survey findings. Among all survey respondents who expressed a preference, a white paper about the survey's findings said that nearly two out of three prefer TDFs with a mix of active and passive managers; fewer than one in four prefer all active, and fewer than one in seven prefer all passive.

Voya's funds also use a participant-centric "to" glide path that emphasizes an aggressive investment approach early in the participant's career and a more conservative approach closer to retirement, relative to peers; and broad diversification of traditional and nontraditional asset classes.

The paper reported that TDF users are more confident than nonusers that they will reach their retirement goals; they feel greater comfort with investment decisionmaking, and exhibit other markers of investment success. In addition, TDF users reported contributing a median of 2 percent more of their income to their accounts than nonusers.

TDFs, the survey found, are more popular with younger workers, with millennials exhibiting the highest level of interest. GenXers come next, with boomers bringing up the rear.