News

401-Pain: Average Retirement Savings Continue To Plummet

The Daily Wire's Ben Zeisloft examines Fidelity Investments' 3rd quarter retirement research release, which finds that average retirement savings declined for the third consecutive quarter amid a volatile stock market and pervasive economic pressures. The piece goes on to quote Fidelity Workplace Investing President Kevin Barry, who draws attention to auto portability, stating that the new feature “can play a crucial role in increasing retirement security for these Americans by automating the movement of an inactive retirement account seamlessly into the active account of a new employer’s plan, potentially preserving trillions of dollars in future savings.”

Fidelity 401(k) Balances Drop 23%, But Default Savings Hold

PLANSPONSOR's Alex Ortolani reports on Fidelity's press release featuring their Q3 2022 retirement analysis, and includes quotes from Kevin Barry, president of Workplace Investing at Fidelity Investments. Ortolani writes: "Fidelity’s Barry also spoke in the release to the importance of retirement savers not leaving behind savings plans when they change jobs. Just last month, the Boston-based firm joined with Vanguard and Alight to create a consortium to tackle the issue of 'cash-out leakage' from participants leaving behind small retirement accounts" and quotes Barry as stating that “[a]uto-portability can play a crucial role in increasing retirement security for these Americans."

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Fidelity® Q3 2022 Retirement Analysis: Despite Continued Volatility, Retirement Fundamentals Remain Sound

In a press release where Fidelity Investments provides their 3rd quarter 2022 retirement analysis, Kevin Barry, president of Workplace Investing at Fidelity Investments found the opportunity to address the need to stem 401(k) cashout leakage via auto portability. In the release, Barry states: "Auto-portability can play a crucial role in increasing retirement security for these Americans by automating the movement of an inactive retirement account seamlessly into the active account of a new employer’s plan, potentially preserving trillions of dollars in future savings.”

Is employee demand behind the shift toward portable retirement plans?

BenefitsPRO's Kristen Beckman examines a "new era of 'employee centric' retirement benefits" where "workers now want a plan that follows them from job to job." While Beckman's article mostly focuses on a new, non-401(k) plan that one vendor is promoting, it acknowledges that "other organizations are targeting portability as well" -- citing "a new partnership between 401(k) administrators Fidelity Investments, Vanguard, and Alight Solutions, which represent approximately 43.8 million workers across more than 48,000 employer-sponsored retirement plans" and "will utilize Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH), a service that provides account portability for retirement plans when workers change jobs."

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Yahoo Finance Covers Fidelity Q3 Research; Mentions Auto Portability

Yahoo Finance adds itself to the list of media outlets drawing attention to Fidelity Investments Q3 research, which noted that, despite continued volatility, retirement fundamentals remain sound. In that release, Fidelity's Kevin Barry praised auto portability, noting that the feature holds promise for addressing the needs of "those millions of workers who change jobs and leave behind low retirement balances" while adding that "auto portability can play a crucial role in increasing retirement security for these Americans."

Did You Lose Your 401(k)? Here’s How To Find It

Writing in Forbes, contributor John F. Wasik addresses the problems of tracking down old 401(k) plans left behind with a previous employer, and the associated cashout leakage that occurs following a job change. Wasik establishes a clear connection to an emerging solution -- the new industry-led consortium Portability Services Network, recently created by "[t]hree of the industry’s largest 401(k) administrators — Fidelity Investments, Vanguard Group and Alight Solutions."

$1.3 trillion sits in forgotten 401(k)s. Here's how advisors can help clients reclaim their money

Financial Planning reporter Dan Shaw examines the problem that "forgotten 401(k)s" can create for advisors, who sometimes spend an incessant amount of time on the phone, tracking down clients' balances. Shaw reports that "Fidelity, Vanguard and Alight Solutions announced in October that they were working together with the online account portability service Retirement Clearinghouse to ensure retirement money can be transferred easily when employees switch jobs." Shaw also notes that "the companies work with 48,000 employer-sponsored plans, holding money from 48.3 million workers."

Auto-Portability Receives Bipartisan Backing with House Bill

401k Specialist's Amanda Umpierrez examines HR 9252, auto portability legislation recently introduced to the House of Representatives by Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Ron Estes (R-KS). Umpierrez turns to Renee Wilder-Guerin, RCH's EVP, Public Policy, who states: “[w]e hope that it indicates that not only do we have support for auto-portability on the Senate side, but we have support on the House, and that increases the chances of auto-portability language being included in SECURE 2.0.”