Auto Portability in the News
Browse the most comprehensive collection of articles in the media that feature auto portability.
Four Reasons Why 401(k) Auto Portability is Inevitable
RCH's Tom Hawkins, writing in the Consolidation Corner blog, offers an optimistic assessment of the prospects for auto portability. Hawkins, who admits to being a "a long-time, unabashed proponent" of auto portability, now believes that the feature's eventual, widespread adoption is "inevitable" and supports his position with four key points.
The Aspen Leadership Forum on Retirement Savings
In a publication released 1/6/2022 as part of the Aspen Institute's Financial Security Program, the 2021 Aspen Leadership Forum on Retirement Savings Report is a summary of the April 2021 Aspen Leadership Forum on Retirement Savings. The Forum's report devotes a page to "Six Stats That Tell the Portability Story" which notes the propensity of American workers to change jobs and to cash out. It also mentions two compelling statistics: 1) that 85% of participants like the idea of automatic portability and 2) that 57% of retirement experts supported a government mandate for auto portability, while almost half (48%) believed that automatic portability was feasible without such a mandate.
The retirement crisis: where do we stand?
Robert Powell, writing in MarketWatch, takes stock of the retirement crisis and turns to Tony Webb, formerly a senior research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, and now an affiliated researcher with the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at The New School. Webb recounts a meeting years ago with RCH's Spencer Williams and Tom Johnson during the formative stages of auto portability. Recalling that meeting, Webb notes that Williams and Johnson “had an idea for automating the transfer of 401(k) plan balances from one plan to another” and described the pair as “the men in white hats, trying to do good.”
EBRI's Lori Lucas Featured in Retirement Management Journal
EBRI's CEO Lori Lucas is featured in the current issue of Retirement Management Journal in an article entitled: “The Visionaries Series – Lori Lucas, CFA – The Economic Importance of Employee Benefits for Americans Financial Security.” In the wide-ranging piece, Lucas is interviewed by RMJ editor-in-chief Robert Powell, along with Stacy Schaus, founder & CEO of Schaus Group LLC. Lucas explains EBRI's efforts to bring clarity to the problem of cashout leakage, as well as their ongoing efforts to analyze the impact of auto portability on preserving Americans' retirement savings.
What the Pension Protection Act has taught us about saving for retirement
Writing in Employee Benefit News, RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams marks the 15th anniversary of the Pension Protection Act (PPA) and offers his views on the unintended consequences of that legislation. Acknowledging that the automatic enrollment feature has been successful in increasing plan participation, Williams notes that the feature also resulted in a “sharp uptick in small, stranded 401(k) savings accounts” that – absent easy plan-to-plan asset portability – has led to increased participant fees as well as higher levels of cash outs. In response, Williams observes that “the private and public sectors have worked together to create solutions” such as auto portability, which can help rectify the PPA’s flaws, and allow Americans to save more for retirement.
Solving 401k Portability and Cashout Leakage a Key DOL Priority
On 12/6/21, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Special Assistant to the Secretary of Labor for Retirement, served as the keynote speaker at EBRI's 90th Public Policy Forum, and outlined the big-picture, retirement-focused priorities of the DOL. One of the DOL's three priorities is the issue of portability and leakage. Writing in 401k Specialist, RCH's Tom Hawkins examines Townsend's remarks to her EBRI audience, which revealed that she has a clear grasp of the magnitude of the cashout leakage problem, as well as its most-promising solution – enabling plan-to-plan portability.
The Great Resignation Doesn’t Have to Derail 401(k) Savers
Writing in the print edition of 401k Specialist Magazine, Managing Editor Brian Anderson examines the growing concern over the phenomenon known as the 'Great Resignation' and its highly negative, potential impact on the retirement security of millions of job-changing Americans. After examining the problem, Anderson identifies auto portability as the 'antidote' to the Great Resignation -- quoting a prior piece by RCH's Tom Hawkins that stated: "No other program or public policy option even comes close, including the proposed establishment of a retirement savings 'lost and found.'"
3 Resolutions for 401k Plan Sponsors in 2022
Writing in 401k Specialist, RCH EVP Neal Ringquist offers 401(k) plan sponsors his suggestions for three 2022 resolutions that, if acted on, could deliver significant benefits for their plans, for their participants and ultimately for the entire 401(k) ecosystem. Ringquist bases his suggestions on several pivotal events that occurred in 2021, underscoring the need to deploy true plan-to-plan portability to solve the problem of cashout leakage.
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