Auto Portability in the News
Browse the most comprehensive collection of articles in the media that feature auto portability.
After 50 years of milestones, the retirement industry is bracing for yet more innovation
Writing in BenefitsPRO on the occasion of National 401(k) Day, Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) and Portability Services Network (PSN) President & CEO Spencer Williams takes the long view -- looking back at the 50 years that have elapsed since the passage of ERISA in 1974. As Williams writes, "[m]uch has been accomplished over the previous 50 years, and more innovation is on the horizon" while proceeding to describe the "long and winding road" of innovations that have led to present day. The accumulation of innovative features, asserts Williams, has positioned the industry for the adoption of auto portability, where "people really can take their benefits with them from job to job, and keep their retirement savings vested."
Four Compelling Reasons for Plan Sponsors to Adopt Auto Portability
Writing in the Consolidation Corner blog, RCH's Tom Hawkins offers plan sponsors four compelling reasons to adopt auto portability. Hawkins cites the groundswell of support that auto portability has already received from the retirement industry, from legislators and regulators, as well as the thousands of plan sponsors who have already adopted, advising plan sponsors that they need not fear "being first" when they adopt. By adopting, they'll be acting in their plan's best interests and in the interests of its participants, who've expressed a strong desire for the new feature.
The Risky Business of Cashing Out Plan Balances Below $1,000
Writing in 401k Specialist, RCH's Tom Hawkins examines the “risky business” of automatically cashing out sub-$1,000 balances of separated participants. Hawkins writes that the practice, “may seem like an expedient approach to rid a plan of small balances” but “carries undesirable side effects for both the plan and for its participants” including uncashed distribution checks and unnecessary cashout leakage. The best approach, continues Hawkins, is to “adopt auto portability, which delivers all of the benefits but none of the flaws of old-school automatic rollovers.”
The Scramble to Make the Saver’s Match Work
PlanAdviser's Alex Ortolani reports on the increasing attention being paid to the Saver's Match program as the 2027 target date for the measure's implementation draws closer. Industry groups such as the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Bipartisan Policy Center, acknowledge there could be issues for the program in addressing "the plumbing with recordkeepers." Ortolani turns to RCH CEO Spencer Williams, who indicates that the Saver's Match program could benefit from auto portability technology being deployed by the Portability Services Network, stating that the "utility can be modestly tweaked so the U.S. Treasury can....identify a taxpayer, select a dollar amount and get the money into their plan. At the end of the day, you have to move the money to make it work.”
Auto Portability Adoption Picks Up Steam
RCH EVP Neal Ringquist examines recent developments surrounding auto portability, which is now in the early stages of plan sponsor adoption. Ringquist writes that plan sponsor adoption “has begun to pick up steam” and shares results that “over 3,300 plans – representing almost 1.4 million active participants” have adopted auto portability via their PSN-affiliated recordkeepers. Ringquist credits PSN recordkeepers with leading the way, while citing a recent article about the Unum Group that provided an innovative plan sponsor’s perspective on the new feature. Looking ahead, Ringquist envisions auto portability becoming a “must-have” feature for sponsors and recordkeepers and expects “more adoption ahead – a lot more.”
Upcoming Trends in Plan Design: From the Perspective of a Retiring Plan Sponsor
PLANSPONSOR's Remy Samuels reflects on the pending retirement of Carl Gagnon, assistant vice president of global financial well-being and retirement programs at Unum Group, and "[k]nown for innovative plan design ideas and offering a wide swath of benefits to his employees." In recounting his legacy of innovation, Samuels notes that Unum Group has elected to adopt auto portability, as delivered by the Portability Services Network. "We think that’s going to be extremely attractive to our new hires,” Gagnon says. “We’re trying to make it easier for our employees to consolidate their assets into one plan and into one company so they can manage it all.”
What Optional SECURE 2.0 Provisions Are Plan Sponsors Most Likely to Adopt?
NAPA Net's Ted Godbout reports on the results of a new plan sponsor survey, conducted by Fidelity Investments "to gain a better understanding of what optional provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act that plan sponsors are most likely to adopt." The survey found "high interest" in auto portability, a service which they expect to be a "standard offering." Godbout also writes that, "for larger plans, withdrawals for emergency expenses was replaced by auto-portability by corporate plan sponsors" and that "plan sponsors in finance and manufacturing both ranked auto-portability as a top option." The Fidelity report can be downloaded here.
Safe-Harbor IRAs Don’t Offer a Long-Term Saving Solution for Plan Participants
Writing in the RCH Consolidation Corner blog, RCH and PSN President & CEO Spencer Williams reflects on the 20-year history of safe harbor IRAs, which were intended to be "a temporary solution to the problem of too many small, stranded accounts in defined contribution plans." Williams provides readers with examples of the dysfunction that has occurred when safe harbor IRAs have failed to act as long-term repositories of savings, or worse, when participants cash out completely. With the advent of auto portability, Williams maintains that the new auto feature will "allow participants to maximize the time retirement savings are invested in their plan accounts—and minimize the time those balances are languishing in underperforming safe-harbor IRAs along the journey to retirement."
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