Media Coverage

A Mistake With Lingering Regret: Cashing Out Your 401(k)

In an article published on the Women's Institute For A Secure Retirement's (WISER) blog, RCH guest author Tom Hawkins describes the ill effects women face when they prematurely cash out their 401(k) balances. Not only do these cashouts jeopardize a safe & secure retirement, Hawkins cites research showing they'll regret the choice, and this regret will build over time. Women should only consider cashing out when faced with a true financial emergency, says Hawkins, and auto portability should help facilitate consolidation of retirement savings for women, as the feature is adopted.

​401k Auto Portability’s Role in Reducing Cybersecurity Risk

In the 5th installment of his five-part series featured in 401K Specialist on "How Auto Portability Serves Participants' Best Interests", RCH's Tom Hawkins examines how auto portability can mitigate retirement savings cybersecurity risks. Auto portability, writes Hawkins, employs the simple-but-powerful principle of consolidation to lower cyber-risk by 1) reducing the cyber-threat attack surface, 2) minimizing fraud-prone, small-balance retirement savings accounts and 3) securely moving retirement savings forward.

How Auto Portability Serves Participants’ Best Interests: Part 5

In the 5th installment of his five-part series on "How Auto Portability Serves Participants' Best Interests", RCH's Tom Hawkins examines how auto portability can mitigate retirement savings cybersecurity risks. Auto portability, writes Hawkins, employs the simple-but-powerful principle of consolidation to lower cyber-risk by 1) reducing the cyber-threat attack surface, 2) minimizing fraud-prone, small-balance retirement savings accounts and 3) securely moving retirement savings forward.

3 Ways Auto Portability Promotes 401k Financial Wellness

In the 4th installment of his five-part series in 401kSpecialist, RCH's Tom Hawkins examines how a program of auto portability can enhance 401(k) participants' financial wellness. To make his case, Hawkins identifies three ways auto portability promotes financial well-being, including: 1) preventing unnecessary 401(k) cashouts, 2) helping 401(k) participants clear the "$10,000 hurdle" and 3) simplifying retirement planning.

Job hopping can hamper retirement savings — but it doesn’t have to

In his latest article in Employee Benefit News, RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams advises retirement plan sponsors to consider tracking the average percentage of retirement savings that participants retain during their tenure. Auto portability, says Williams, can enable participants to preserve their small-balance savings through job changes. Going further, Williams encourages plan sponsors and consultants to apply the all-important “participant-retained savings” lens when evaluating their automatic rollover programs, including metrics such as cash-out rates, median safe harbor IRA account duration and provider support for consolidation.

EBRI's VanDerhei Addresses PSCA Conference, Including Auto Portability Update

ASPPA Net's John Iekel covers EBRI Research Director Jack VanDerhei's 5/1/19 presentation before the PSCA National Conference, where VanDerhei provided an update on auto portability's benefits, as calculated in EBRI's Retirement Security Projection Model (RSPM). According to Iekel, VanDerhei asserted that "introducing auto-portability for participants who are Gen Xers reduced retirement savings shortfalls for couples regardless of which dies first, and for single people regardless of gender."

Also Featured in NAPA Net (link)

How Auto Portability Serves Participants’ Best Interests: Pt 4 Auto Portability Enhances Participants’ Financial Wellness

In the 4th installment of his five-part series on "How Auto Portability Serves Participants' Best Interests", RCH's Tom Hawkins examines how a program of auto portability can enhance 401(k) participants' financial wellness. To make his case, Hawkins identifies three ways auto portability promotes financial well-being, including: 1) preventing unnecessary 401(k) cashouts, 2) helping 401(k) participants clear the "$10,000 hurdle" and 3) simplifying retirement planning.

Got a New Job? Here’s What to Do With Your Old 401(k)

The Penny Hoarder's Sarah Kuta runs down the options facing 401(k) participants when they change jobs, including 1) leaving their savings in the plan, 2) rolling into a new employer's plan, 3) rolling over to an IRA and 4) cashing out. When it comes to cashing out, Kuta warns participants against this damaging behavior, citing a 2017 report by Retirement Clearinghouse, entitled "The Fundamentals of 401(k) Cashout Leakage" which takes a comprehensive view of America's 401(k) cashout leakage problem.