Retirement plan portability blog posts


Apr
28
2016

Say What? The Arcane Lingo of Retirement Savings Portability

In virtually any area of specialty, a unique jargon evolves that is highly-specific to that field. To insiders using the lingo every day, it seems familiar and perfectly normal. To outside observers, it can feel like a foreign language -- with words, terms and acronyms that make no sense.

Mar
31
2016

Account consolidation time-consuming, expensive for employees

As has happened so many times before, the Baby Boomer generation is once again drawing attention to an unmet need: a seamless way to consolidate their collection of retirement accounts into a single account, which is a necessary step to creating a sturdy retirement plan. Much has been written about how sponsors can improve both their plans' overall health and their participants' retirement outcomes by embracing roll-ins; nonetheless, the account-consolidation process remains time-consuming and expensive for most participants.

Mar
04
2016

Saving For Retirement is not a Trivial Pursuit

In his March 3rd column in MarketWatch, RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams establishes an important link between the board games we played as children (ex. Candy Land, Trivial Pursuit and Snakes & Ladders) and the games we can play in adulthood, while managing our retirement savings. The children's games are harmless, fun and instructive, but the adult retirement games (ex. Cashing Out, Stranding Accounts, and Not Updating Your Address) are anything but.

Feb
29
2016

Tales from the Roll-In Front Lines, Part II

In a previous post, Tales from the Roll-In Front Lines, Part I, we described a roll-in transaction gone awry: a comedy of errors that occurs all too often when service providers are unfamiliar with consolidating retirement savings from one plan into another.

Feb
01
2016

Cutting the Gordian Knot: Portability & Small Accounts

Have you ever wondered why so few participants move their old 401(k)s into their current employers' plans? Or why so many participants prematurely cash out their retirement savings accounts, regardless of taxes and penalties? Or why job-changing participants leave their savings behind only to lose track of them as if their assets for retirement belong on some remote desert island away from all their other savings?

Jan
26
2016

Tales from the Roll-In Front Lines, Part I

In previous articles, we have discussed the many benefits that occur when participants roll in multiple retirement savings accounts into their current employer's 401(k) account. Participants benefit from reduced cash outs, lower investment fees and simplified retirement planning. A program of facilitated roll-ins delivers positive results for plans as well, including increased average balances, lower record keeping costs and improved retirement readiness metrics.

Jan
20
2016

Four New Year's Resolutions for Retirement Savers Summary

In his 1/20/16 MarketWatch column (Four New Year's Resolutions for Retirement Savers), Retirement Clearinghouse CEO Spencer Williams offers four New Year's resolutions that all 2016 job-changers should take to heart, including...

Jan
13
2016

Washington Recognizes Need for Retirement Plan Portability Solutions

Clearly, Washington DC is now "getting it" when it comes to retirement plan portability. In November 2015, Senator Patty Murray and other influential members of Congress delivered a letter to Department of Labor Secretary Perez urging action on Auto Portability. Now, we have strong comments from President Obama in his final State Of The Union address on the need for more portable retirement savings.

Page: