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Consolidation Corner Blog
Consolidation Corner is the Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) blog, and features the latest articles and bylines from our executives, addressing important retirement savings portability topics.
On Earth Day, Consider Auto Portability to ‘Recycle’ 401(k) Savings
On April 22nd, we celebrate the 56th annual Earth Day, and
that gives RCH’s Tom Hawkins the opportunity to consider how the concept of
recycling applies to our nation’s 401(k) system, which Hawkins characterizes as
having a “waste problem” that manifests in the form of excessive cashout
leakage and stranded accounts. By contrast, auto portability represents a
sustainable solution that ‘recycles’ small-balance accounts, and its adoption
is rapidly accelerating via members of the Portability
Services Network (PSN).
Modeling the Future of the Saver's Match Program
As the Saver’s Match Program must soon transition from legislative concept to operational reality, one question looms larger than any other: how will the Program operate at scale, in the real world, across tens of millions of people annually, thousands of institutions, and billions of federal dollars? Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) offers a response to this question as we simulate a specific solutions model for the Saver's Match, examining its impact under four scenarios executed over a 10-year period. Download the full research report here.
Financial Literacy and the Power of Preservation
Writing in the RCH Consolidation Corner blog, Tom Hawkins shares his impressions from the 3/31/26 SPARK Champions for Financial Literacy event in Washington, DC, which kicked off Financial Literacy Month. Hawkins notes the impressive line-up of speakers, including policy headliners Kevin Hassett, Director, National Economic Council and Luke Pettit, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions, and many others – all sharing relevant personal and professional experiences that spoke directly to the transformative power of financial literacy. However, it was the address by RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams, whose laser focus on savings preservation and his passionate advocacy for the building out of a “neutral, industry-scale clearinghouse” that could wind up being the most consequential message delivered at the event. Williams’ full speech is included in the article.
The Saver’s Match Program is Missing a Crucial Component
Writing in the RCH Consolidation Corner blog, RCH president & CEO Spencer Williams examines the critical infrastructure that will be required to support the Saver's Match Program. When the program goes live in 2027, the volume of direct deposits from the U.S. Treasury into 401(k) plans and IRAs will require technology infrastructure that can handle millions of transactions on a timely basis every year. Every transaction will require locating a taxpayer’s retirement savings account, matching the identities of the taxpayer and accountholder, and transporting the contribution from the U.S. Treasury into the active account. That's why having the infrastructure in place to seamlessly, effectively, and securely facilitate the millions of Saver’s Match contributions will be essential to the program's success.
Building Out the Clearinghouse Our Retirement System Demands
On March 5, 2025, Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) released a landmark whitepaper – Building Out Clearinghouse Services for the U.S. Retirement System: A Blueprint for a Digital Infrastructure. In this article, RCH's Tom Hawkins, a co-author of the paper, summarizes the high-level, compelling case for expanding the set of clearinghouse services beyond auto portability, and explains why this initiative is absolutely required in order to "create a retirement ecosystem that does what it should have done all along: protect workers’ savings as they move through their careers, not lose them along the way."
Why Plan Sponsors Need a Clear Uncashed Distribution Check Policy
Writing in the RCH Consolidation Corner blog, Tom Hawkins addresses the significant uncertainties that plan sponsors face when navigating the issue of uncashed distribution checks. Hawkins writes: "it is vitally important that each retirement plan maintain a formal, documented and defensible uncashed distribution check policy – one that outlines the plan’s procedures, establishes consistent practices and mitigates fiduciary risk." Hawkins proceeds to identify key elements to consider when building such a policy, and -- conforming with the policy framework that Hawkins describes -- the article provides plan sponsors access to a downloadable, sample uncashed distribution check policy template for their use.
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.
2025: A Breakthrough Year for Portability
Writing in the Consolidation Corner blog, RCH’s Tom Hawkins looks back on 2025, when four important developments emerged related to the topic of retirement savings portability. Taken together, Hawkins asserts that these developments represent a “breakthrough year for portability” with a “clear pattern emerging – where retirement savings portability in general, and specifically – auto portability, will figure prominently in the drive for increased retirement security in 2026 and beyond.”
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