Ricki G. Ingalls, Ph.D., Recognized Creator of Large-Scale, Data-Driven Logistics Systems, Joins RCH as COO
Ricki G. Ingalls, Ph.D., Recognized Creator of Large-Scale, Data-Driven Logistics Systems, Joins RCH as COO
Designer of Retirement Clearinghouse’s Auto Portability Simulation (APS) will Help Position Firm to Accommodate Expected Widespread Implementation of Auto Portability
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—February 26, 2019—Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) announces that Ricki G. Ingalls, Ph.D. has joined the firm as Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Ingalls, who reports directly to Founder, President, and CEO Spencer Williams, previously worked with RCH to design the Auto Portability Simulation (APS) demonstrating the impact of auto portability for defined contribution service providers, and the improved retirement outcomes for plan participants, under a scenario where auto portability is broadly adopted and stays in effect for a generation.
“Ricki has a long track record of designing and implementing large-scale logistics systems that empower enterprises like Retirement Clearinghouse to optimize operations as they rapidly scale,” said Spencer Williams, Founder, President, and CEO of Retirement Clearinghouse. “Many of the hurdles to the widespread adoption have been cleared, most recently via the Department of Labor’s guidelines on auto portability’s legal and regulatory framework. Ricki’s expertise and experience will be invaluable as we position Retirement Clearinghouse to meet rising demand from plan sponsors and record-keepers.”
“The clearinghouse technology that enables auto portability is itself a large-scale, data-driven logistics system that can help workers in a variety of industries save more for retirement,” said Ricki G. Ingalls, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer of Retirement Clearinghouse. “I am pleased to be joining Retirement Clearinghouse at a time when the nationwide implementation of auto portability, and the seamless consolidation of 401(k) account balances, are closer than ever to becoming a reality.”
As Founding Principal and Chairman of the consulting firm Diamond Head Associates, Mr. Ingalls has harnessed Big Data and analytics to create logistics systems that facilitate process and supply chain improvements for companies such as Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB-InBev) and Halliburton.
Mr. Ingalls received his Ph.D. in Management Science from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Ingalls was previously an Associate Professor, and Chair of the Department of Computer Information Systems and Quantitative Methods, at Texas State University’s McCoy College of Business Administration.
Mr. Ingalls was also an Associate Professor in Oklahoma State University’s School of Industrial Engineering and Management, and President of Entero Technologies, LLC, where he developed algorithms and process improvements for clients such as Brivo Systems, Frito-Lay, and Royal Dutch Shell. Earlier in his career, he was Senior Manager of Global Integrated Logistics at Compaq Computer Corp. Mr. Ingalls also holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University, and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from East Texas Baptist College.
Auto Portability: On the Cusp of Large-Scale Implementation
Auto portability (https://www.rch1.com/auto-portability) is the routine, standardized, and automated movement of a retirement plan participant’s 401(k) savings account from their former employer’s plan to an active account in their current employer’s plan. In November 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor issued guidance on auto portability for defined contribution plan sponsors. The guidance, provided in the form of an Advisory Opinion and a proposed Prohibited Transaction Exemption, offers clarity that paves the way for plan sponsors across the country to adopt auto portability as part of an automatic rollover service.
The Auto Portability Simulation (APS) that Mr. Ingalls worked with RCH to develop represents the first-ever discrete event simulation model of America’s defined contribution system. Introduced at the 78th annual Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) Policy Forum on May 12, 2016 in Washington, D.C., Mr. Ingalls and RCH have continuously improved the model, expanding its scenarios and incorporating new assumptions and data inputs as available. The APS demonstrates that, under a scenario where auto portability is widely adopted for workers with balances of less than $5,000, cash-outs of small 401(k) accounts could be reduced by two-thirds, resulting in the preservation of $784 billion in retirement savings over a generation.
RCH remains the only independent party which consolidates retirement savings into active 401(k) or IRA accounts by facilitating the seamless transfer of savings between retirement accounts. The RCH Auto Portability service, which automates the consolidation process for small accounts, has been in operation since 2017. On behalf of a large plan sponsor in the health services sector, RCH completed the first-ever fully automated, end-to-end transfer of retirement savings from a safe-harbor IRA into a participant’s active account in July 2017. To learn more about RCH’s suite of portability services, please visit: https://rch1.com/plan-sponsors/rch-portability-services
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