Media Coverage

‘Forgotten’ Accounts: Forget Hyperbole, Here’s a Solution

In the wake of industry media outlets’ reporting on research estimating there are 31.9 million “forgotten” 401(k) accounts totaling about $2.1 trillion in assets, NAPA Net posted two sober-minded takes on the matter, contending there’s no justification for broadly labeling these accounts as “forgotten” while also observing that the figures “serve as a proxy for a lack of efficient account portability." Following NAPA Net’s lead, RCH’s Tom Hawkins, writing in the RCH Consolidation Corner blog, evaluates three potential solutions to enable broad portability, zeroing in on an “affirmative consent-based automatic transfer process, applying to all balances not covered by auto portability and supporting IRA rollovers, plan-to-plan roll-ins, as well as those who choose to stay in-plan.”

Universal Auto-Portability Can’t Come Soon Enough

Paul Mulholland, Content Writer and Reporter for the American Retirement Association (ARA), analyzes the state of plan-to-plan portability (or perhaps the lack thereof) in America's retirement plan system. Mulholland identifies the absence of universal automatic portability, or transferring balances between retirement plans upon changing jobs, as a primary obstacle to consistent retirement saving. Mulholland takes a deep dive into multiple dimensions of the issue, identifying abuses and frustrations that can occur with safe harbor IRA providers, and turns to RCH EVP and Chief Revenue Officer Neal Ringquist and Michael Kreps, a principal at the Groom Law Group, for their insights.

Commentary: Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to close America’s wealth gap

Retirement Clearinghouse and Portability Services Network Chairman Robert L. Johnson, writing in Pensions & Investments, makes a compelling case for three public policy initiatives -- Auto Portability, the Saver’s Match and Trump Accounts -- that represent a chance "to reshape the trajectory of retirement savings -- and finally confront America’s stubborn wealth gap." Johnson recounts his personal journey, a timeframe which coincides with some key milestones, including the inception of America's 401(k) system, and a widening of the wealth gap. Johnson closes with a call to action, urging "public and and private sectors to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to give America’s chronically under-served and under-saved workers generational wealth."

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Vanguard: 42% of US Participants Are on Track to Maintain Lifestyle in Retirement

PLANSPONSOR's Emily Boyle reports on new research, released by Vanguard, which assesses the readiness of American workers for retirement. Fiona Grieg, global head of investor research and policy at Vanguard’s Investment Strategy Group, provides Boyle with highlights from the report, entitled “The Vanguard Retirement Outlook: Strong National Progress, Opportunities Ahead." Addressing DC plan design, Grieg notes that "having a recordkeeper that participates in the Portability Services Network can help reduce leakage. When an employee switches jobs, if their old and new jobs both participate, a retirement account balance less than $7,000 rolls over automatically into an active account with their new employer."

Also featured in PlanAdviser

Talking Points: Third Time No Charm in ‘Forgotten Account’ Fantasy

Retirement industry icon Nevin Adams takes to NAPA Net to write a critique of newly-released research which suggests that there are $2 trillion in 'forgotten' 401(k) accounts. In his piece, Adams systematically dismantles both the methodology and conclusions behind the report, while offering EBRI’s auto portability analysis and benefits as sensible research counter-points to the hyperbole surrounding the analysis of 'forgotten' accounts.

More Than $2T Sitting in 'Left-Behind' 401(k)s

Beagan Wilcox-Volz, writing in Ignites, examines new industry analysis projecting that $2 trillion is "left behind" in "forgotten" 401(k) accounts. In the article, Wilcox-Volz turns to Anqi Chen of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, who notes that "today there are solutions that make the process less cumbersome" -- citing increased plan sponsor adoption of auto portability via the Portability Services Network, adding that "[t]his growth is encouraging, and I think it will make workers' hard-earned retirement savings much more portable."

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A Trifecta of Solutions to Close America’s Retirement-Savings Gap

RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams addresses a “trifecta” of retirement savings public policy solutions – Trump Accounts, the Saver’s Match and Auto Portability – which he characterizes as “transformational” initiatives, which “taken together, have the potential to incentivize retirement-saving opportunities for small-balance plan participants, thus significantly shrinking the existing wealth gap.” Williams cites the trillions in benefits associated with the three initiatives which “can, finally, resolve our country’s wealth gap over time.”

How Big of a Problem Are Forgotten 401(k)s?

NAPA Net Content Writer and Reporter Paul Mulholland examines recent research released by Capitalize that identifies 31.9 million “forgotten” 401(k) accounts, totaling about $2.1 trillion, and finds the research less-than-persuasive. According to Mulholland, rather than being "forgotten" these accounts "serve as a proxy for a lack of efficient account portability." While the Capitalize research may grossly overstate the problem of "forgotten" accounts, Mulholland writes that "the growth in 'left behind' accounts is still an issue, and illustrates the inability the current system has to efficiently consolidate retirement accounts for participants."