News

Auto portability clearing the way for adoption

Writing in Pensions & Investments, Alight EVP Alison Borland articulates her strong advocacy of auto portability, which she describes as the "brainchild of Retirement Clearinghouse." Addressing the most important factors that influenced Alight Solutions’ decision to become a market leader in embracing the new plan feature, Borland cites auto portability’s benefits to the broader retirement ecosystem, while imploring her audience to join her firm in going "all-in on auto portability.”

NAPA Net Suggests RCH's Potential Role as Trusted Third Party

In his 7/30/20 column, NAPA Net's Nevin Adams reports on the terms of a possible settlement of the Princeton 403(b) excessive fee suit, suggesting that RCH could have a role as a trusted third party. Adams writes "for the members of the Settlement Class who no longer have an account in the plans as of the time of distribution, the distribution will be made via a tax-qualified distribution process, which will transfer those funds to Retirement Clearinghouse LLC — to be deposited into safe-harbor automatic rollover individual retirement accounts." In a footnote to the article, Adams also mentions RCH's "pioneering auto-portability program....recently adopted by Alight."

FA Notes from the Publisher Mentions Alight-RCH Announcement

In her Tuesday update, Financial Advisor Magazine Publisher Cindy Taylor recaps the latest, hot topics covered by their reporters. In the update, Taylor singles out the efforts of FA Senior Editor Christopher Robbins, whose recent focus on fintech stories included filing a "piece looking at a new automated 401(k) program from Alight Solutions & Retirement Clearinghouse."

How to Close the Coming COVID-19 Retirement Savings Gap

Writing in 401k Specialist, RCH’s Tom Hawkins foresees the emergence of a COVID-19 retirement savings gap, driven by unprecedented levels of terminated participants and relaxed penalties on withdrawals. To address the problem, Hawkins calls upon the private sector to embrace solutions such as auto portability -- that will begin to close the gap, stem unnecessary cashout leakage and deliver ongoing benefits that will extend well beyond the current crisis.

Financial Wellness Benefit Looks Different Post-Pandemic

In his 7/23/20 piece for 401kTV, Managing Editor Steff Chalk examines financial wellness programs in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chalk states that "the pandemic has wrapped financial wellness benefit programs in a shroud of reality" and that quantifying their results is now more important than ever. For a dose of reality, Chalk turns to RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams, extensively citing his 1/20/20 article in Employee Benefit News. In that article, Williams makes a strong case for auto portability "as a solution to the financial wellness ROI conundrum for employers."

Alight Is the First RKer to Add This Kind of Feature

Reporting on Alight Solutions' 7/14/20 announcement that they will offer RCH Auto Portability to their DC recordkeeping clients, The 401kWire's Lauren Corradi interviews RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams to gain more insight. Williams states that "Alight's adoption sends an 'all clear' signal to all plan sponsors that RCH Auto Portability is a legitimate and beneficial service for their participants." In her piece, Corradi also quotes Alight's EVP Alison Borland.

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Alight First to Use 401(k) Auto-Porting Service

Ignites' Joe Morris covers the nationwide launch of the RCH Auto Portability program, observing that Alight Solutions has become the first recordkeeper to sign on to use RCH’s 401(k) balance-transfer technology.

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How to Automatically Transfer Your 401(k) Money When You Change Jobs

Lifehacker's Kate Dore reports on the nationwide launch of RCH Auto Portability, announced on 7/14/20, from the perspective of job-changing participants, whose transition could improve with the advent of the new plan feature. Dore references cashout leakage research by EBRI and Alight, and views the launch of auto portability as a positive development for plan participants.