News

RPA Conversations: Fidelity's Dave Gray

In his ongoing Wealth Management RPA Conversations series, Fred Barstein, contributing editor and CEO of 401kTV, talks with Dave Gray, head of workplace retirement products and platforms at Fidelity Investments. Gray weighs in on several key retirement industry topics that affect retirement plan advisers, and turns to the Portability Services Network (PSN), an industry-led consortium dedicated to the widespread adoption of auto portability. Gray walks Barstein through the background of PSN, addresses the PSN's goal of bringing on board additional PSN recordkeeper members, and stresses the importance of enlisting retirement plan advisers in helping to facilitate the adoption of auto portability.

Link to discussion on Portability Services Network, beginning at 7:00 mark

No One is Coming to Save You From Missing Participants

Writing in 401k Specialist, Tom Hawkins provides his views on the dilemma facing plan sponsors who must confront the problem of locating missing plan participants. Despite ongoing efforts petitioning regulatory authorities for clear, bright line guidance, plan sponsors "must take decisive action to avoid being overwhelmed, including implementing effective, common-sense search practices, and pairing those search practices with other actions that will minimize the incidence of missing participants over time." Hawkins also urges plan sponsors to consider embracing retirement savings portability, including auto portability, to assist separated participants in consolidating their retirement savings following a job change.

Previously featured in RCH's Consolidation Corner

How to Close the Racial Savings Gap with BET Founder Bob Johnson: DC Pension Geeks

Robert L. Johnson, founder of RLJ Companies and BET, joins American Retirement Association (ARA) CEO Brian Graff for a fascinating discussion about auto portability, financial wellness, closing the savings gap, and much more. Graff hosts Johnson for the ARA's DC Pension Geeks podcast -- featured in NAPA Net -- and spends 33 minutes with the legendary entrepreneur in a thoughtful discussion that focuses on minority wealth initiatives that Johnson has been both advocating for and actively pursuing for years, such as retirement savings auto portability.

Enhancing Financial Security for the Long Term

SHRM's Stephen Miller writes about the "technological breakthroughs, red-tape-cutting legislation and new initiatives from service providers" driving big changes for defined contribution plans that will "provide larger nest eggs for employees' retirement years." Miller identifies auto portability -- as delivered by the Portability Services Network -- as one of his four "megatrends" that will bring about dramatic changes. In the piece, Miller offers readers a primer on the key factors driving auto portability and turns to RCH EVP Neal Ringquist and Alight Solutions' Alison Borland for their views on the adoption of the emerging financial technology.

Are Plan Sponsors Jumping on the Auto Portability Train?

In their recurring "Question of the Week" poll, the Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA) asks their plan sponsor readership about their intentions or actions concerning their plan's adoption of auto portability. In the informal poll, about 18% affirmed their desire to participate, while another 34.7% "needed to know more" and 11.6% were unsure. 20% indicated that their recordkeeper is not presently associated with the Portability Services Network (PSN), and only 14.7% responded that they have no plans to adopt the new feature. The results of this poll coincided with the 10/1/23 commencement of PSN operations, and represented a dramatic improvement over a 2021 poll, where 80% of respondents have never heard of auto portability.

5 Ways Employers Can Improve Retirement Readiness for Underserved Participants

PLANSPONSOR's Remy Samuels reviews new research from Alight Solutions, which outlines ways employers "can make retirement savings more accessible for workers from racial and ethnic minorities and the LGBTQ+ community, all of whom have historically fallen behind in saving for retirement." Recapping Alight's research, Samuels highlights five key ways plan sponsors can accomplish these goals, including facilitating auto portability, which advocates "working with recordkeepers in Retirement Clearinghouse’s Portability Services Network—a consortium of retirement plan service providers seeking to help workers transfer low account balances from one employer plan to the next."

Vanguard Says Sweeps, Auto Enrollment Still Key in Combatting Savings Gaps

PlanAdviser's Alex Ortolani reviews a new retirement research report released by The Vanguard Group, which finds "a daunting retirement readiness gap for lower-income workers that needs continued attention from the industry." Ortolani turns to Dave Stinnett, head of strategic retirement consulting at Vanguard, for his insights into the report's findings. To address the gap, Stinnett urges advisers and plan sponsors to adopt best practices for promoting retirement savings, including automated features. "Stinnett points to automatic portability as a way for workers to keep their savings in tax-deferred workplace plans when moving jobs" and notes the industry-led effort spearheaded by the Portability Services Network.

A Consortium's 1st 3 RKers Are Poised to Plug In, And ...

The 401kWire's Neal Anderson reports on the pending, 10/1/23 "go live" date for auto portability, as delivered by the Portability Services Network, when the "first two recordkeepers are poised to plug their platforms in to the technology." Anderson extensively quotes RCH and PSN president & CEO Spencer Williams, as well as Alight Solutions' Greg Long, head of public policy. In addition to providing his outlook on near-term adoption of the new feature, WIlliams notes that he is "constantly adding to the [RCH] team" to meet the network's future expansion plans, which he projects will accelerate in 2024 and beyond, adding: "[f]or us, the next three to five years will be almost uninterrupted expansion."
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