Public Policy

Here’s how Congress wants to combat early withdrawals from retirement accounts

Writing for MarketWatch, retirement reporter Alessandro Malito covers the 10/28/21 U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging's hearing for “A Financially Secure Future: Building a Stronger Retirement System for All Americans” which focused on the problem of early withdrawals (leakage) and how solutions such as auto portability can help. Malito reported on comments provided by Ranking Member Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) on cashout leakage and his support for auto portability, as well as Committee testimony provided by RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams, directly quoting his testimony: “we need to make it super easy because every time someone changes jobs, they’re faced with a decision, particularly at the low end.”

Michael Kreps of Groom Law: Cool Things You Might Not Know

In her ongoing Thought Leadership series, Lisa Massena of Massena Associates interviews Groom Law Group's retirement public policy expert Michael Kreps to identify next level, breaking policy matters that industry followers should be paying attention to. During the 1-on-1 conversation, Kreps singles out auto portability as "a really cool thing" that he believes "is the most important thing that is happening right now." Auto portability, explains Kreps, addresses a "lack of infrastructure" that preserves retirement savings and results in having "money follow you from plan A to your new plan B."

A leap forward for auto portability

Greg Long, industry thought leader and head of Alight Solutions' head of Public Policy & Defined Contribution Public Sector, takes to LinkedIn to provide his viewpoint on auto portability. Citing another major recordkeeper's announcement that it's joining the RCH auto portability network, Long takes stock of that positive development, and uses it to advocate for making auto portability "the standard for all small, terminated accounts."

Worried About Losing Your Old 401(k)s? ‘Portability’ Measures Can Help

Yahoo Finance's Mike Obel takes stock of portability measures that could remove roadblocks for Americans "to take along their retirement funds more easily throughout their careers." Obel cites both draft legislation in Congress, as well as Vanguard's 9/21/21 announcement of plans to work with Retirement Clearinghouse on auto portability, which is expected to launch in mid-2022.

Also featured in SmartAsset.com

Small retirement accounts, prone to cash-outs and getting lost, a growing problem

InvestmentNews correspondent Emile Hallez reports on a retirement study published on 9/21/21 by the Brookings Institution, examining the problem of small accounts. While the paper examined a myriad of potential policy solutions to the problem, it acknowledged "private-sector" efforts by Retirement Clearinghouse to implement auto portability. On the same day the Brookings' paper was released, Hallez also notes the announcement by Vanguard that it will offer RCH Auto Portability, the private sector solution, and joining Alight Solutions.

401k Auto Portability’s Significant Benefits to Pending Legislation

Writing in 401k Specialist Magazine, RCH's Tom Hawkins recaps a 9/13/21 Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) webinar (The Impact of Proposed Legislative Changes on Retirement Income Adequacy). In the webinar, EBRI Research Director Jack VanDerhei presented an analysis of pending legislative changes, including automatic contribution plans and arrangements (ACPAs), paired with a refundable saver’s credit. Unsurprisingly, the benefits for these policy initiatives were quite large. However, what was truly surprising was the sheer magnitude of incremental benefits delivered by the addition of auto portability, significantly paring retirement shortfalls for 35–39-year-olds, across all race and ethnicity categories.

Beware of Unintended Effects of Retirement Savings Public Policies

Writing in 401k Specialist Magazine, RCH's Tom Hawkins examines the unintended effects that can result from retirement savings public policies that would dramatically expand access to, and participation in, defined contribution plans. While the benefits are impressive, additional undesired consequences can arise that are antithetical to the policies’ original intent, including increased cashout leakage, missing participants, uncashed checks and forgotten/stranded accounts. Understanding these highly predictable "second order" effects, Hawkins identifies plan-to-plan portability as an effective means of addressing them, while significantly boosting the overall policies’ benefits.

Refundable Saver’s Tax Credits Would Significantly Reduce Retirement Savings Shortfall—Especially for Minorities

Writing in RCH's Consolidation Corner, RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams examines pending retirement savings legislation, and focuses upon the benefits of a refundable saver's credit, which would be directly deposited into taxpayers' 401(k) and IRA accounts. Taking his analysis a step further, Williams considers the infrastructure required to transfer these funds to savers, and identifies considerable synergies with the existing technology that supports auto portability.