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Auto Portability blog posts
RCH Consolidation Corner Channel Ep. 20 - Empirical Data Proves Portability Works
Welcome to yet another edition of the RCH Consolidation Corner Channel, our 20th episode thus far. We continue to provide you, the listener, with audio content that explores key issues in the preservation and consolidation of retirement savings. In this episode, we take a look at some very compelling real-world studies that prove that programs promoting retirement savings portability – and specifically auto portability – work extremely effectively to dramatically reduce cashout leakage. We hope you’ll find the audio enjoyable and informative.
Proof Positive: Retirement Savings Portability Works
We’ve long known – through sophisticated models such as EBRI’s Retirement Security Projection Model (RSPM) and the RCH Auto Portability Simulation Model – that retirement savings portability has the potential to significantly reduce cashout leakage and to generate systemic benefits. But models, however sophisticated they may be, can be inherently less convincing than hard, empirical data. In this RCH Consolidation Corner article, Tom Hawkins provides readers with definitive, real-world empirical data proving that portability not only works – it works at scale – and will deliver consistent results over many years and for millions of job-changing participants.
RCH Consolidation Corner Channel Ep. 19 - Three Retirement Initiatives That Could Help Close the Wealth Gap
Welcome to another edition of the RCH Consolidation Corner Channel, where we provide you with audio content that explores key issues in the preservation and consolidation of retirement savings. In this episode, we examine three retirement initiatives that could make significant contributions toward closing the nation’s wealth gap. We hope you’ll find the audio enjoyable and informative.
Auto Portability: Meeting the Needs AND Wants of Participants
When American workers change jobs, the fate of their retirement savings is often left hanging in the balance – especially for those with accounts less than $7,000. But today, with the continuing adoption of auto portability via the Portability Services Network, the story is changing. Auto portability is now beginning to address the most pressing needs of small-balance participants: reducing cashout leakage, automating consolidation, and making the preservation of retirement savings the default, “easiest choice” – while also closely aligning with what participants want, as revealed in multiple, authoritative surveys.
The Triple Crown to Unlock Retirement Security for All
In his 8/15/25 Consolidation Corner blog post, RCH’s Tom Hawkins writes about the “Triple Crown” of retirement security – three retirement savings public policy initiatives that are “poised to finally close” the retirement savings wealth gap. Each of the three initiatives – Auto Portability, the Saver’s Match and Trump Accounts – all share common features, targeting small-balance savers, delivering enormous public policy benefits and are made both efficient and effective by incorporating proven financial technology. Issuing a call-to-action for plan providers and plan sponsors, Hawkins writes: “now is the time to act” adding “every year spent in ‘wait and see’ mode means millions miss out, and the retirement gap grows.”
New Research Shines Light on the Saver’s Match Program
Writing in the RCH Consolidation Corner blog, Tom Hawkins puts two recent Saver’s Match research findings – one from Morningstar and the other from RCH – into perspective. The Morningstar research, authored by industry veteran Jack VanDerhei and Spencer Look, pegs the potential incremental retirement wealth generated by the Saver’s Match at $2.03 trillion. Another research effort, conducted by Retirement Clearinghouse, involves a discrete event simulation model of the Saver’s Match program, simulating specific technologies and operational solutions required to support the program. Together, writes Hawkins, “these two new research efforts…quantify overall Saver’s Match program benefits, and model the potential size, scale and operations of the program.”
In Light of Evolving Regulations, What are Plans Sponsors’ Fiduciary Obligations with Regard to Account Consolidation?
In his latest opinion piece, RCH Founder, President & CEO Spencer Williams discusses the fiduciary obligations of auto portability, "the process powering 401(k) account consolidation" and seeks to assuage lingering fiduciary concerns associated with "proposed regulations....issued on January 29, 2024 by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)." Williams contends that the DOL's regulations do not override fiduciary responsibilities as set forth in the DOL's 2018 Advisory Opinion, or contained in "the regulatory framework for automated portability transactions already in the SECURE Act 2.0."
Why Preserving Small Balances Matters (and How Auto Portability Helps)
The preservation of small-balance 401(k) accounts – particularly those under $7,000 and subject to 401(k) plans’ automatic rollover provisions – represents an important challenge for America’s retirement system. In his 6/26/25 article in RCH's Consolidation Corner blog, Tom Hawkins examines four compelling arguments for the importance of preserving small balances, while demonstrating how auto portability, as delivered by the Portability Services Network (PSN), can help achieve this goal.
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