Public Policy

After 50 years of milestones, the retirement industry is bracing for yet more innovation

Writing in BenefitsPRO on the occasion of National 401(k) Day, Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) and Portability Services Network (PSN) President & CEO Spencer Williams takes the long view -- looking back at the 50 years that have elapsed since the passage of ERISA in 1974. As Williams writes, "[m]uch has been accomplished over the previous 50 years, and more innovation is on the horizon" while proceeding to describe the "long and winding road" of innovations that have led to present day. The accumulation of innovative features, asserts Williams, has positioned the industry for the adoption of auto portability, where "people really can take their benefits with them from job to job, and keep their retirement savings vested."

The Scramble to Make the Saver’s Match Work

PlanAdviser's Alex Ortolani reports on the increasing attention being paid to the Saver's Match program as the 2027 target date for the measure's implementation draws closer. Industry groups such as the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Bipartisan Policy Center, acknowledge there could be issues for the program in addressing "the plumbing with recordkeepers." Ortolani turns to RCH CEO Spencer Williams, who indicates that the Saver's Match program could benefit from auto portability technology being deployed by the Portability Services Network, stating that the "utility can be modestly tweaked so the U.S. Treasury can....identify a taxpayer, select a dollar amount and get the money into their plan. At the end of the day, you have to move the money to make it work.”

Robert L. Johnson Talks Auto Portability, Racial Wealth Gap at EBRI Spring Policy Forum

Writing in 401k Specialist, Renée Wilder Guerin, RCH EVP, Public Policy, provides readers with a summary of the May 16th keynote address by Robert L. (Bob) Johnson, Chairman of The RLJ Companies, Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) and the Portability Services Network (PSN), to the 2024 EBRI Spring Policy Forum, co-hosted by the American Benefits Council. In Johnson’s address, entitled “Helping to narrow the nation’s lingering racial wealth gap” – the legendary Black American entrepreneur gave Forum attendees insight into the businessman’s long, purpose-driven journey to create entrepreneurial solutions to social problems, including his current efforts in the retirement sector, where he’s become laser-focused on leveraging public/private sector solutions that narrow the wealth gap for minorities and women.

Expanding Retirement Plan Automation

PlanAdviser's Natalie Lin reports on the 5/16/24 EBRI Spring Policy Forum, where an expert panel was convened to discuss how automation features can help underserved communities save for retirement. In that discussion, Jason Jagatic, head of global and workplace thought leadership at Fidelity, pointed to auto portability as "beneficial to underserved communities in particular, as they are often made up of part-time workers who shift employers frequently." Lin added that "Fidelity, along with some of the country’s other largest recordkeepers, is part of the Portability Services Network providing the porting of retirement assets. The services went live among some recordkeepers in November 2023, with others coming online this year and into the future."

Bob Johnson’s Vision for Reshaping Retirement Security

In an interview with WayMaker Journal, Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) and Portability Services Network (PSN) Chairman Robert L. Johnson "explains how retirement saving works, why it matters, what he is doing to improve the system and how you can benefit." In the Q&A, Johnson delivers a primer on retirement savings, America's mobile workforce and the importance of PSN and auto portability in preserving retirement savings. Johnson also offers his views on the Saver's Match, a federal program that he believes "may be the incentive needed to encourage minorities to....start saving to improve their financial outlook in retirement." Johnson closes the interview with an optimistic outlook on the prospects for success in "closing the retirement savings shortfall in our country."

Corporate Adviser Podcast: Pot for Life around the world

In a podcast featured on UK-based Corporate-Adviser.com, host John Lappin discusses various international solutions for “small pots” (i.e., small balance accounts) that could be applied in the UK. Lappin turns to two AON consultants, who provide a country-by-country rundown on international best practices, with the U.S. and auto portability receiving mention around the 7:30 mark in the podcast. The show's guests also mention a “retirement clearinghouse” that operates the auto portability solution, which they characterize as being innovative, but still in the early phases of implementation.

Retirement Industry Weighs in on Auto Portability Regulations

As the comment period expires for the U.S. Department of Labor's proposed regulations on auto portability, the retirement industry has weighed in, as reflected in the following media articles:

• PlanAdviser: Chamber of Commerce, ERIC Ask DOL for Modifications to Auto-Portability Proposal
• PLANSPONSOR: Stakeholders Ask for Fewer Regulatory Mandates for Automatic Portability
• NAPA Net: ARA Submits Letter to DOL on Auto-Portability Proposed Regs and PTE (also featured in ASPPA Net)
• BenefitsPRO: ERISA group urges DOL to simplify its new 401(k) 'automatic portability' rule
• JD Supra: How DOL’s Proposed Automatic Portability Regulations Will Affect Defined Contribution Plans
• Business Insurance: ERISA Industry Committee calls for simplification of auto-portability rule
• Ascensus Washington Pulse: DOL Releases Proposed Regulations for Automatic Portability Transactions
• Morgan Lewis MLBeneBits: DOL Proposed Rule on Automatic Portability: Plan Fiduciaries’ Perspective

Changes for Small-Balance Savers

In the March-April 2024 edition of PLANSPONSOR Magazine, Remy Samuels covers developments surrounding small-balance accounts, including the 12/29/23 increase of the mandatory distribution threshold from $5,000 to $7,000, the recent announcement by the Portability Services Network (PSN) of live operations, and the release by Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) of an updated version of its Auto Portability Simulation (APS). Samuels briefs her readers on all of these developments, and offers a summary of key results from RCH's new APS model.

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