Public Policy

Sens. Push Tax Proposals To Increase Retirement Savings

Law360's Stephen Cooper reports on the 7/28/21 Senate Finance Committee hearing (Building on Bipartisan Retirement Legislation: How Can Congress Help?), where the influential committee sought bipartisan consensus on ways to increase savings for American workers through tax incentives, expanded access and preservation of savings lost through leakage. Testifying before the committee, Cooper reports that Aliya Robinson, SVP of Retirement and Compensation Policy for the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), twice indicated that "her organization supports auto portability proposals" that would help move retirement savings forward for job-changers.

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People Moves: Retirement Clearinghouse Adds Executive VP of Public Policy

PLANSPONSOR's Amanda Umpierrez reports on the retirement industry's most significant people moves, including Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH), where the firm appointed Renée Wilder Guerin as EVP of Public Policy, following the retirement of Tom Johnson.

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Auto Portability Gaining Acceptance

Writing in 401kTV, Managing Editor Steff Chalk observes that "auto portability appears to be gaining some ground as a solution for retirement plans" and can "impact cash-out leakage, missing participants, and forgotten 401(k) accounts" -- adding that nearly 9 of 10 participants value auto portability. "The case for auto portability" says Chalk, "is compelling, and getting stronger" and he further notes that "including auto portability in public policy could help to improve the results" of pending SECURE 2.0 legislation.

PRESS RELEASE - Renée Wilder Guerin Joins Retirement Clearinghouse as Executive VP of Public Policy

In a 7/20/21 press release, RCH announces that Renee Wilder Guerin, former Director of the Federal Thrift Savings Plan, has joined Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) as Executive Vice President of Public Policy, with responsibility to drive support for public policy matters aiming to preserve retirement savings and increase retirement security for all Americans. Ms. Wilder Guerin will be taking over the position from Tom Johnson, who is retiring.

Pressure Mounts to Reunite Workers With Old Retirement Accounts

Bloomberg Law reporter Austin Ramsey addresses recent pressure on the federal government to reconnect retirement plan participants with their benefits, including the possible establishment of a retirement savings lost & found. For clarity, Ramsey turns to two experts -- Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, and RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams. Munnell's views underscore the need for consolidation and cites RCH's program of auto portability. Williams then provides Ramsey with an update on RCH's auto portability program, stating that any lost & found "must involve the private sector."

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The Strong Case for a Retirement Savings ‘Lost and Found’

Writing in 401k Specialist Magazine, RCH's Tom Hawkins takes a deep dive into draft SECURE 2.0 provisions that dramatically expand the purpose, scope and scale of a Retirement Savings Lost & Found. Hawkins contends that the new provisions, as currently written, would create a massive, government-run repository of micro-balance accounts costing taxpayers millions, while failing to boost retirement security. Hawkins encourages Congress to return to an earlier Lost & Found model, while addressing the broader, small-balance account problem through policies that incentivize the adoption of auto portability.

401k Leakage and Auto Portability Featured at Senate Committee Hearing

Writing in 401k Specialist, RCH EVP Tom Johnson reports on the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) 5/13/21 hearing on retirement security. With testimony from a blue-ribbon panel of witnesses, the hearing had a broad focus, but the topic of retirement savings leakage, and its most-promising solution, auto portability, were prominently featured in testimony by EBRI CEO Lori Lucas, and echoed by other witnesses and Committee members.

A Big Problem: Another Leakage Study Reaches the Same Conclusion

Writing in 401k Specialist Magazine, RCH’s Tom Hawkins examines a retirement savings leakage study from the Joint Committee on Taxation, a nonpartisan committee of the United States Congress. Released with little fanfare on 4/26/21, the study confirms the findings of earlier research on cashout leakage – namely, that cashout leakage is a big problem, is driven by job changing, and is exacerbated by "forced distributions and [a lack of] portability of plans.”