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.


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.

Jan
04
2016

Auto Enrollment: The Unintended Consequences, Part II (Research)

In his December 1, 2015 article (The unintended consequence of 401(k) auto-enrollment), RCH CEO Spencer Williams exposes the linkage between auto enrollment and lower average account balances. Based on Form 5500 data, Williams' analysis presents some excellent examples of industries where average balances are significantly lower in plans that have adopted auto enrollment compared to plans that have not. RCH's Tom Hawkins follows up that article with his own analysis, extending Williams' earlier work.

Dec
16
2015

The checklist you need to manage multiple retirement accounts

In his December 16th, 2015 article in MarketWatch, RCH's CEO Spencer Williams offers a year-end checklist for those retirement savers who have elected to leave qualified retirement savings accounts behind with their former employers.

Dec
15
2015

As 401(k) Cash Out Leakage Grows, So Does Need for Auto Portability

In his December 11th article in BenefitsPro (Addressing the Critical Problem of 401(k) Cash Outs), Nick Thornton draws much-needed attention to the magnitude of the 401(k) cash out leakage issue, due to the frictions associated with account portability when plan participants switch jobs. Thornton's article rightly emphasizes the need for automated portability similar to automatic enrollment and deferral increases - to effectively address the cash out problem.

Dec
10
2015

Don't forget about your service provider's internal security

With attention-grabbing headlines about major security breaches occurring almost daily, plan sponsors need to be assured that their service providers are on guard 24-7, protecting sensitive information and intellectual property, wherever it may reside.

Dec
01
2015

The unintended consequence of 401(k) auto-enrollment

Auto enrollment, codified in law by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, was drafted with the best of intentions to increase Americans' retirement savings but it has had the unintended consequence of impairing plan effectiveness. By proliferating small accounts in plans, auto enrollment has caused a decrease in average account balances throughout the U.S. retirement system. Adding to the urgency of this issue is the rising rate of auto enrollment adoption across defined contribution plans of all sizes, but particularly among larger plans.

Nov
16
2015

Boomers: Consolidate Your Retirement Accounts Immediately!

In his 11/16/15 MarketWatch article Boomers need to consolidate retirement accounts immediately RCH President & CEO J. Spencer Williams notes that the baby boomer generation, which is closest to retirement age, stands to benefit the most from consolidating their retirement savings, vs. leaving their accounts behind at former employers.

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