Media Coverage

A Perfect Storm is Brewing—But Automated Portability Could Defuse It

RCH and PSN President & CEO Spencer Williams, writing in the Consolidation Corner blog, notes that a rising incidence of hardship withdrawals and 401(k) loans – as reported by Bank of America – combined with a pending increase in the account-balance limit for automatic rollovers effective 12/31/23, could create a “perfect storm” for depleting Americans’ retirement savings. “Fortunately,” writes Williams, “sponsors and recordkeepers have access to a solution that can help them clean up their plans without automatically rolling terminated accounts into safe-harbor IRAs.” Auto portability, continues Williams, is a “capability [that] is more essential than ever, with 401(k) plan enrollment continuing to increase” and could serve to defuse the brewing storm of potential cash-outs.

Focus Shifts to Plan Sponsors as Portability Network Set to Go Live

Writing in the Consolidation Corner blog, RCH's Tom Hawkins describes the coming "shift" that will occur when the Portability Services Network (PSN) goes live at the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2023. Describing PSN's network-building achievements to date as "nothing short of phenomenal", Hawkins adds that "integration had proceeded apace" and that "plan sponsors will take center stage as they begin to adopt auto portability and witness its tangible results." Plan sponsor adoption will accelerate as auto portability demonstrates its obvious benefits to plans, to participants and to society at large, where adoption will eventually serve as a "positive indicator of a socially responsible enterprise."

Why the Future is Now Brighter for Small-Balance Retirement Accounts

RCH's Tom Hawkins, writing in 401k Specialist, describes the "brighter future" emerging for small-balance retirement savings accounts. Hawkins maintains that these accounts, which he associates with an increased incidence of sub-optimal participant outcomes, will fare much better in the future due to "large-scale, industry-led action on auto portability, and more recently, proactive steps being taken by leading providers to consolidate legacy small-balance IRAs."

Previously featured in RCH's Consolidation Corner

The Future is Brighter for Small-Balance Retirement Accounts

RCH's Tom Hawkins, writing in the Consolidation Corner blog, describes the "brighter future" emerging for small-balance retirement savings accounts. Hawkins maintains that these accounts, which he associates with an increased incidence of sub-optimal participant outcomes, will fare much better in the future due to "large-scale, industry-led action on auto portability, and more recently, proactive steps being taken by leading providers to consolidate legacy small-balance IRAs."

Addressing Cash-Outs May Help Improve Retirement Readiness

Writing in 401kTV.com, Fred Barstein, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, cites a recent Employee Benefit News opinion piece authored by RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams. Barstein writes that Williams' article "spotlight[s] recent research from the Sauder School of Business that found that 41.4% of employees chose to cash out their 401(k) accounts when they left their employers" while adding that "auto-portability is a viable solution to improve retirement readiness in America and help retain assets in the nation’s retirement system." Barstein closes by imploring employers to "consider auto-portability options to make it easier for employees to take their 401(k) accounts with them when switching jobs."

Increasing Retirement Security with Neal Ringquist and Spencer Williams

In their ongoing WealthTech on Deck podcast, LifeYield's Jack Sharry interviews RCH's Spencer Williams, President and CEO, and Neal Ringquist, Chief Revenue Officer, about increasing retirement security and ensuring that previous 401K plan balances don’t get left behind. Sharry's interview focuses on auto portability, which he characterizes as "a convenient choice for both employees and advisors because it preserves retirement savings automatically." In the episode, Williams and Ringquist address how auto portability benefits retirees and advisors alike, the four major hurdles of auto portability, and the future of preserving retirement savings.

The Impact Of SECURE 2.0 On Americans’ Retirement Readiness

Writing in Private Wealth Magazine, noted private wealth expert Russ Alan Prince interviews Neal Ringquist, RCH's EVP and Chief Revenue Officer, about which SECURE 2.0 provisions Ringquist feels will impact retirement savings most, and what advice advisors should give their clients regarding these provisions. In the interview, Ringquist draws attention to SECURE 2.0 provisions that codify auto portability, as well as the related provision that increases the limit on 401(k) account balances that can be automatically cashed out by sponsors and recordkeepers and transferred to default IRAs, from $5,000 to $7,000. Ringquist offers Prince a compelling primer on why these provisions will reduce cashout leakage, benefitting plan sponsors, participants and the advisors who serve them.

Vanguard, Retirement Clearinghouse Set Sights on IRAs

Napa Net's Ted Godbout covers the announcement of Vanguard and Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) expanding their collaboration to include services for individual retirement account (IRA) holders. The aim is to reconnect IRA holders with forgotten or lost retirement funds, especially those left behind when employees change jobs, to preserve and maximize their assets. The initiative builds on their existing relationship, which was focused on an auto-portability service for 401(k) plans. By extending the partnership to forgotten IRA accounts, both companies aim to improve retirement outcomes for under-saved and underserved participants by consolidating stranded or forgotten accounts.