Public Policy

RCH Proposes ‘Digital Clearinghouse’ to Modernize Retirement Infrastructure

Writing in NAPA Net, Ted Godbout addresses the newly-released whitepaper from Retirement Clearinghouse (Building Out Clearinghouse Services for the U.S. Retirement System: A Blueprint for a Digital Infrastructure), which "details how a 'neutral, digital clearinghouse' can reduce retirement plan cash‑outs and the number of dormant accounts, all while enabling seamless interoperability across recordkeepers, custodians, and government programs." Godbout writes "[t]he clearinghouse concept would be modeled after the firm’s Auto Portability Network, but expanded to include additional functionality, such as a Saver’s Match Network, Auto Locate Network, and Digital Rollover Network."

MEDIA ALERT: Whitepaper Presents Comprehensive Framework for Modernizing America’s Fragmented Retirement Ecosystem

MARCH 5, 2026 – Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) today announced the release of a landmark whitepaper, Building Out Clearinghouse Services for the U.S. Retirement System: A Blueprint for a Digital Infrastructure. Authored by Spencer Williams, Thomas Hawkins, and Dr. Ricki Ingalls, the paper presents the most comprehensive framework to date for modernizing America’s fragmented retirement ecosystem.

Kelsey’s (K)orner: Cool Runnings and Auto Portability — How We Smooth the Track

Kelsey Mayo, Chief of Retirement Policy & Regulatory Affairs for the American Retirement Association (ARA), authors a piece in NAPA Net, addressing potential improvements that would "smooth the track" for auto portability, including allowing the portability of Roth balances, explicitly including sub-$1,000 balances and "expanding the parameters" to include balances greater than $7,000. Mayo closes by writing: "[a]uto portability is directionally correct. Leakage remains a very real threat—and this is meaningful progress."

Generation Beta: first Americans to save for retirement at birth

Writing in Employee Benefit News, RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams examines the phenomenon of Generation Beta, the first Americans "who will start saving for their retirement when they are born" - by virtue of their qualifying to receive federally-funded Trump Accounts. Williams further observes that "[w]hen recipients of Trump Accounts turn 18, those accounts are eligible to be rolled in to their employer’s 401(k) plan" and sees opportunities for "digital, paperless account portability" to facilitate the consolidation of these balances and allowing for their ongoing growth.

Generation Beta: The First Americans to Start Saving for Retirement at Birth

Writing in RCH's Consolidation Corner, President & CEO Spencer Williams examines the phenomenon of Generation Beta, the first Americans "who will start saving for their retirement when they are born" - by virtue of their qualifying to receive federally-funded Trump Accounts. Williams further observes that "[w]hen recipients of Trump Accounts turn 18, those accounts are eligible to be rolled in to their employer’s 401(k) plan" and sees opportunities for "digital, paperless account portability" to facilitate the consolidation of these balances and allowing for their ongoing growth.

Congress Ought to Allow Roth IRA Rollovers

Kelsey Mayo, writing in ASPPA Net, identifies her top reasons why Congress should allow Roth IRA-to-401(k) Rollovers, as provided for in The Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act, proposed legislation that was introduced in early December, 2025 by Sens. Barrasso and Bennet, along with Reps. LaHood and Sánchez. One of Mayo's top reasons for supporting the legislation is that, in the context of auto portability, "Roth money [can] get stuck in the Roth IRA — never making it to the new employer plan" and preventing the full "actualization" of auto-portability.

Reintroduced Bill Would Grant Roth IRA Rollovers

Writing in 401k Specialist, Amanda Umpierrez, Managing Editor, covers the reintroduction of a bill designed to allow savers to roll over Roth individual retirement accounts within the defined contribution system. Umpierrez outlines the essential elements of the bill, and quotes American Retirement Association (ARA) CEO Brian Graff, who states that the "Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act will reduce duplicative fees associated with maintaining multiple accounts, curb retirement savings leakage through seamless auto-portability."

ARA-Supported Bipartisan Bill to Permit Roth IRA Rollovers Reintroduced

Legislation that would allow retirement savers to roll over their Roth IRA savings into a Roth account within a workplace retirement plan was reintroduced on Dec. 4. The bipartisan, bicameral Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act — which the American Retirement Association (ARA) has endorsed — would amend the Internal Revenue Code to specifically allow the transfer of contributions from Roth IRA savings accounts into a Roth 401(k), Roth 403(b), or Roth 457(b). The legislation, notes the ARA and its legislative sponsors, specifically promotes expanded portability for Roth IRA savings, with ARA CEO Brian Graff stating that the bill would "curb retirement savings leakage through seamless auto-portability, and ensure workers can carry their Roth savings with them as they move through their careers."

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