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Retirement Clearinghouse in the News
Find news articles referencing RCH and our services, including Auto Portability
Improving Retention By Supporting 401(k) Account Consolidation
Writing in Wealth Solutions Report, Spencer Williams -- the CEO of both the Portability Services Network and Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) -- characterizes the "opportunity for advisors" represented by auto portability, which improves the retention of assets in the 401(k) system. Aside from the benefits enjoyed by participants who preserve their savings, auto portability, writes Williams, "creates two-way flows for participants’ savings" and in so doing, allows "more assets to flow into the plans sponsored by advisors’ 401(k) clients through automated roll-in contributions."
Explaining fiduciary obligations for 401(k) consolidation
In his latest opinion piece in Employee Benefit News, RCH Founder, President & CEO Spencer Williams discusses the fiduciary obligations of auto portability, "the process powering 401(k) account consolidation" and seeks to assuage lingering fiduciary concerns associated with "proposed regulations....issued on January 29, 2024 by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)." Williams contends that the DOL's regulations do not override fiduciary responsibilities as set forth in the DOL's 2018 Advisory Opinion, or contained in "the regulatory framework for automated portability transactions already in the SECURE Act 2.0."
Hoosiers might have thousands of dollars in unclaimed 401(k) accounts. How you can easily check
Daniel de Vise, writing in the IndyStar, examines the phenomenon of "missing money" in the nation's retirement system. The author examines multiple approaches for finding forgotten retirement savings account, including dedicated websites, the newly-established Retirement Savings Lost & Found, and personal sleuthing. Perhaps saving the best for last, de Vise turns to auto portability, writing: "[f]ewer 401(k)s will go missing in future, experts say, thanks to the evolving concept of "auto-portability" in retirement plans" embraced by the Portability Services Network (PSN). de Vise wraps up his piece by quoting AARP's David John, who states that PSN will make sure that retirement funds “move seamlessly from one job to another."
Why Preserving Small Balances Matters (and How Auto Portability Helps)
The preservation of small-balance 401(k) accounts – particularly those under $7,000 and subject to 401(k) plans’ automatic rollover provisions – represents an important challenge for America’s retirement system. In his 7/11/25 opinion piece in 401k Specialist, RCH's Tom Hawkins examines four compelling arguments for the importance of preserving small balances, while demonstrating how auto portability, as delivered by the Portability Services Network (PSN), can help achieve this goal.
Americans are better than ever at saving for retirement, Vanguard says
Writing in Quartz, Emily Price dissects Vanguard’s new “How America Saves 2025” report, which finds that American workers are contributing at all-time highs to their 401(k)s, thanks to smarter plan design and professional investment strategies. Despite the overall optimism, Price notes there are areas where "Americans still struggle." Price writes that job changes "continue to disrupt savings momentum, according to the report" and "rolling over 401(k) funds can be a difficult process that leads to lost accounts or cash-outs. Proposed auto-portability measures could someday help by automatically transferring retirement balances to new plans, potentially adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to a worker’s lifetime retirement wealth."
How Vanguard Is Helping Under-Served Americans Increase Retirement Savings
Private wealth guru Russ Alan Prince sits down with Vanguard's Steve Holman, who serves as principal and head of Vanguard’s Workplace Solutions Distribution Enablement division, and who also serves as a member of the board of directors for the Portability Services Network. The two discuss Vanguard's perspective on helping under-served retirement savers, how Vanguard came to embrace auto portability via the Portability Services Network, how auto portability has already made significant progress with plan sponsor adoption, and why Holman believes adoption is in the best interests of plan sponsors and their participants.
‘Forgotten’ 401(k) account fees can cost workers thousands in lost retirement savings, report finds
Contributing CNBC writer and editor Jessica Dickler's 06/07/25 piece in CNBC Money takes on the problem of 'forgotten' 401(k) accounts, defined as occurring when employees change jobs, leaving behind 401(k) balances with previous employers. After examining the topic from various perspectives, Dickler closes her piece by citing the Portability Services Network, formed in 2022 by "a group of large 401(k) plan administrators." Dickler reports that the "consortium works with defined contribution plan rollover specialist Retirement Clearinghouse on auto portability, or the automatic transfer of small-balance 401(k)s." She goes on to cite Fidelity's Mike Shamrell, vice president of thought leadership at the nation's largest provider of 401(k) plans, who maintains that the goal of auto portability "is to consolidate and maintain those retirement savings accounts, rather than cashing them out or risk losing track of them, during employment transitions."
Learning lessons from the US long-term savings industry
Writing in Professional Pensions, Tom Ground, the UK-based CEO of Retirement Solutions at Standard Life, describes his "learning lessons" from a recent tour of the US retirement industry. Ground characterizes the US retirement industry as being "at least ten years ahead of [the UK}" and goes on to identify the key areas where the US has excelled. High on Ground's list is auto portability, where he writes: "the US has grasped the nettle and introduced ‘auto-portability' which enables small pots to move with you to your new employer in much the same way the pot follows member concept would have worked here. Feedback from those I spoke to suggested it was an effective...solution to the problem."
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