Media Coverage

401(k) auto-portability bill floated in House

P&I DC reporter Brian Croce covers HR 9252 (Advancing Auto-Portability Act of 2022), introduced October 28th by Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., and Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan. The bill, writes Croce, "is a companion bill to legislation with the same name introduced in June by Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, that's aimed at reducing plan leakage."

New Legislation for Reducing Premature Retirement Savings Cashouts

Insurica, a large multi-state insurance broker, writes about pending auto portability legislation in their blog, noting the Advancing Auto-Portability Act of 2022, which was originally introduced into the Senate by Senators Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), with a companion bill recently introduced into the House. The blog's author points out that the bill "aims to encourage the adoption of auto portability programs" and "would incentivize employers who adopt auto portability with a tax credit of $500 if they offer this option to their employees."

New House Bill Allows Automatic 401(k) Rollovers

ThinkAdvisor's Melanie Waddell reports on the recent introduction of HR 9252, which codifies auto portability, the seamless transfer of retirement accounts from employer to employer. The House bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS) and Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), and Waddell turns to Groom Law Group expert Steve Saxon to weigh in on the proposed legislation. The bill, says Saxon: “reduces [DC plan] leakage by making it easy for an individual to manage all their retirement assets in one place.” Waddell reports that the House bill is a companion version of legislation previously introduced into the U.S. Senate, and writes that "the bills may be included in the Secure Act 2.0 retirement legislation that’s expected to pass during the lame-duck session of Congress."

Large providers team up for auto portability

Writing in JD Supra, The Rosembaum Law Firm's Ary Rosenbaum observes that "Fidelity Investments, Vanguard, and Alight Solutions have teamed up with Retirement Clearinghouse, LLC (RCH) to create a consortium of workplace retirement plan recordkeepers, Portability Services Network, LLC, to accelerate the nationwide adoption of auto portability.

House Bill Seeks Automatic Rollover Of Retirement Accounts

Writing in the legal publication Law360, reporter Jared Serre notes that the introduction of a bill (HR 9252) in the U.S. House of Representatives "would allow for the automatic rollover of savings from 401(k) accounts from one employer to another after a job change is made." The bill, which complements provisions previously introduced in U.S. Senate legislation, was co-sponsored by Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS) and Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL).

A New Year’s Resolution for Sponsors: Facilitate Automated Plan-to-Plan Portability for Your Participants

Writing in RCH's Consolidation Corner blog, and taking his cue from the 10/5/22 announcement of the industry-led utility (Portability Services Network) to accelerate the nationwide adoption of auto portability, RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams encourages plan sponsors resolve to adopt auto portability in the New Year, for both their participants and for the health of their plans. Williams writes: "[a]s we look ahead to the New Year, plan sponsors can resolve to help their participants increase their retirement savings—and increase key metrics such as average account balance—by adopting auto portability."

A Decade in the Making: The Retirement Industry's New 'Utility'

Ignites' Beagan Wilcox-Volz covers a lot of ground in addressing the significance of the new, industry-led 'utility' that will facilitate the nationwide expansion of auto portability. Wilcox-Volz turns to industry experts, such as Josh Gotbaum and Michael Kreps, as well as key figures directly involved in the formation of the Portability Services Network, including RCH's Spencer Williams and Neal Ringquist, Fidelity's Dave Gray and Alight Solutions' Greg Long. Wilcox-Volz also quotes an Empower "spokesperson" as being "in the early stages of due diligence around potentially joining this proposed industry consortium" and that the firm "recognizes the need in the market for auto-portability."

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The Surprising Reason You Should Be Consolidating Your 401(k)s And IRAs

Suggest.com's Perry Carpenter points to three key factors -- including high levels of job-changing, increasing levels of auto enrollment and automatic rollovers of balances below $5,000 -- that converge to make a strong case for individuals consolidating their employer-sponsored retirement savings accounts. Carpenter finds a staunch proponent for consolidation in RCH president & CEO Spencer Williams, who states that "[f]rom a consumer perspective, the default should be 100% of the time to move your money." The piece goes on to cite four key benefits of consolidating account.

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