News

Why 401k Cashout Leakage is a Crisis

In his five-part series in 401k Specialist, RCH's Tom Hawkins sheds light on the problem of cashout leakage, a silent crisis that unnecessarily robs millions of Americans of their retirement security. In his first article, Hawkins addresses the fundamentals of cashout leakage -- defining it, clearing up common sources of confusion, and identifying why the problem continues to persist.

Rolling Over Retirement Assets Creates Greater Retirement Income Adequacy

PLANSPONSOR's Rebecca Moore examines new research from EBRI that quantifies the beneficial impact of retirement savings portability, via rollovers to IRAs or to other DC plans. In EBRI's analysis, every age cohort realized significant increases in retirement income adequacy when their balances moved forward, highlighting the importance of keeping balances in the retirement system and avoiding cashout leakage. Tying EBRI's analysis to related regulatory initiatives, Moore noted Retirement Clearinghouse's pending, prohibited transaction exemption (PTE) for the use of their auto portability solution.

Also featured in PlanAdviser

Wall Street Journal: Moving Your 401(k) Could Get Easier

In her 6/10/19 column in The Wall Street Journal, Bailey McCann examines pending regulation from the U.S. Department of Labor on the RCH Auto Portability program, designed to reduce leakage and "help workers bring their retirement accounts with them as they change jobs." McCann quotes RCH founder, President & CEO Spencer Williams, and credits RCH for "develop[ing] the platform that would do the automatic transfers." Also expressing their support are Matthew Drinkwater, Director of Retirement Research at the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute, and Alicia Munnell, Director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

A Mistake With Lingering Regret: Cashing Out Your 401(k)

In an article published on the Women's Institute For A Secure Retirement's (WISER) blog, RCH guest author Tom Hawkins describes the ill effects women face when they prematurely cash out their 401(k) balances. Not only do these cashouts jeopardize a safe & secure retirement, Hawkins cites research showing they'll regret the choice, and this regret will build over time. Women should only consider cashing out when faced with a true financial emergency, says Hawkins, and auto portability should help facilitate consolidation of retirement savings for women, as the feature is adopted.

​401k Auto Portability’s Role in Reducing Cybersecurity Risk

In the 5th installment of his five-part series featured in 401K Specialist on "How Auto Portability Serves Participants' Best Interests", RCH's Tom Hawkins examines how auto portability can mitigate retirement savings cybersecurity risks. Auto portability, writes Hawkins, employs the simple-but-powerful principle of consolidation to lower cyber-risk by 1) reducing the cyber-threat attack surface, 2) minimizing fraud-prone, small-balance retirement savings accounts and 3) securely moving retirement savings forward.

Ringquist Quoted, National Cash Out Clock Cited By Detroit Free Press

In her article offering tips to readers who face financial pressure from an unexpected layoff, the Detroit Free Press' Susan Tompor quotes RCH EVP Neal Ringquist and references RCH's National Retirement Savings Cash Out Clock (link), which projects that Americans will cash out $68 billion in 2019. Ringquist urges caution in tapping a 401(k) balance prematurely, advising against withdrawals except for a true financial emergency, stating "you can't borrow for retirement once you retire."

3 Ways Auto Portability Promotes 401k Financial Wellness

In the 4th installment of his five-part series in 401kSpecialist, RCH's Tom Hawkins examines how a program of auto portability can enhance 401(k) participants' financial wellness. To make his case, Hawkins identifies three ways auto portability promotes financial well-being, including: 1) preventing unnecessary 401(k) cashouts, 2) helping 401(k) participants clear the "$10,000 hurdle" and 3) simplifying retirement planning.

Job hopping can hamper retirement savings — but it doesn’t have to

In his latest article in Employee Benefit News, RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams advises retirement plan sponsors to consider tracking the average percentage of retirement savings that participants retain during their tenure. Auto portability, says Williams, can enable participants to preserve their small-balance savings through job changes. Going further, Williams encourages plan sponsors and consultants to apply the all-important “participant-retained savings” lens when evaluating their automatic rollover programs, including metrics such as cash-out rates, median safe harbor IRA account duration and provider support for consolidation.