News

​Podcast Episode 15—What’s Wrong With 401k Coverage and Balances? Alicia Munnell from the Center for Retirement Research Explains

In his most recent podcast, John Sullivan interviews Dr. Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, about retirement plan coverage, leakage and other issues currently affecting 401ks. Sullivan poses the question about Auto Portability being the effective solution to the problem of leakage; Munnell's responds stating, "Auto Portability is important because it would reduce cashing out of small amounts." She goes on to mention that "Retirement Clearinghouse has been leading the way on this issue for a long time and it seems now they're poised to make a real difference."

Auto Portability Featured in Senate Finance Subcommittee Hearing

In a Senate Finance subcommittee hearing held on 12/9/20 (Investigating Challenges to American Retirement Security) expert witness Michael P. Kreps offered testimony highlighting the problem of cashout leakage and pointing to auto portability as a near-term solution for "millions of plan participants early next year." Following Kreps testimony, strong bipartisan support for auto portability was voiced by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) and Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV).

​Retirement advice from the man who created the 401(k)

In his 12/09/20 article in Yahoo Finance, Adam Shapiro interviews Ted Benna, the father of the 401(k), seeking retirement advice. Benna warns of the major issues in the years ahead for Americans and advises hiring a rollover professional, such as Retirement Clearinghouse, to help with the rollover process and avoid simple mistakes. “Hiring them may not eliminate all the stress, but it will greatly reduce it,” Benna says.

Retirement Clearinghouse receives investment from billionaire John C. Malone

The Editorial Staff of the Retirement Income Journal reports on the recent announcement that John C. Malone, chairman of Liberty Media Group, has taken a minority ownership stake in RCH, which is majority-owned by Robert L. Johnson, chairman of The RLJ Companies. The authors state that Malone made the investment after becoming "convinced...of the importance of reducing leakage from qualified plans." The article also notes that the investment comes on the heels of RCH's previous announcement that Alight Solutions will lead the nationwide launch of the RCH Auto Portability Program, and will serve to address the problem of cashout leakage that occurs disproportionately among Black and Hispanic workers.

Billionaire Media Mogul John Malone Invests in BET Founder Bob Johnson's 401(k) Program

Black Enterprise's Jeffrey McKinney examines the "reconnection" between "serial entrepreneur Robert Johnson and media mogul John Malone" -- taking the form of a minority stake investment by Malone in Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH). In the piece, Malone cites RCH's 401(k) auto portability as the kind of practical "inclusive capitalism" that motivated his action. McKinney cites Johnson's economic activism and quotes Johnson, who states that the pair "have a long history of taking on big challenges" and with Malone's guidance, will "do our part to close the wealth gap for America's minority communities."

Elect to help your employees keep their retirement savings

Against the backdrop of uncertainty surrounding the 2020 Presidential election, RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams takes to Employee Benefit News to remind us of the real impact other choices can have on people’s lives. For plan sponsors who care about preserving their participants’ retirement benefits, Williams urges them to “elect” auto portability and play a decisive role in helping millions of Americans save more for retirement.

Also featured in Employee Benefit Adviser

Bringing Sunlight to Dark Corners of Safe Harbor IRA Fees

Safe harbor IRAs exist due to the success of 401(k) plans, combined with the propensity of America’s mobile workforce to change jobs. While safe harbor IRAs have helped plan sponsors mitigate their cost and risk associated with small accounts, they’ve failed miserably for former participants. In his latest opinion piece in 401(k) Specialist, RCH's Tom Hawkins focuses sunlight on the unsavory practice of excessive safe harbor IRA fees, and offers advice to plan sponsors for promoting greater fee transparency and disclosure.

Exploring the Lost Opportunities of Small IRA Rollovers

PlanAdviser's Lee Barney reports on the 11/17/20 EBRI webinar (Big Challenges with Small IRAs), which shed light on the growing problem of small balance IRAs, largely fueled by safe harbor IRAs. Presenting EBRI's recent research, Craig Copeland characterized the problem as "very pervasive." Barney quotes RCH's President & CEO Spencer Williams, who cites job-changer and cashout statistics, and points to small balance account issues as the reason that RCH created auto portability, stating: “[t]his is a solution that attempts to take advantage of inertia to create better behaviors and outcomes.”