Auto Portability - Public Policy
Learn more about retirement savings public policy positions related to Auto Portability.
ThinkAdvisor: Women's Retirement Income Shortfall Improved by Auto Portability
ThinkAdvisor's Michael S. Fischer takes a deep dive into EBRI research that examines the gender disparity in retirement savings deficits projected for single women and widows. Fischer also highlights the EBRI finding that, for employees with 21 to 30 years of future DC plan eligibility, auto portability reduced the average retirement savings shortfall by 21% for single women and by as much as 38% for widowers.
EBRI Research Reveals Auto Portability's Benefits to Generation X Women
New EBRI Research, released 1/17/19, reveals a troubling Retirement Savings Shortfall (RSS) that is significantly higher for Generation X women, including both single females and widows, than for their counterparts. However, EBRI also found that auto portability made a "significant dent in these retirement deficits." According to EBRI, with auto portability "we found at least a double-digit percent reduction for all groups with future years of defined contribution plan eligibility, and for those with 21–30 years of eligibility, we found a 21 percent reduction in deficits for single females and a 31 percent reduction for widows."
Retirement Industry Associations in Alignment on 401k Auto Portability
401(k) Specialist contributor Tom Hawkins examines the official public comments by large,
retirement-focused organizations on the proposed RCH Auto Portability
Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE), which were posted on 1/7/19.
Some distinguished retirement industry organizations weighed in,
representing a diverse cross-section of stakeholders, including: retirees,
women, businesses, plan sponsors, retirement industry professionals, securities
firms, banks, and asset management companies. If their feedback is any
indication, then auto portability has a bright future.
Retirement Industry Associations Weigh in on Auto Portability
At the end of 2018, major retirement industry organizations
were asked to comment on the DOL’s proposed prohibited transaction exemption
(PTE) for the Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) auto portability program.
After a brief delay brought about by the partial federal government shutdown,
all official comments have been publicly posted. If the views of these
organizations are any indication, auto portability has a bright future.
Michael Barry Gives DOL an 'A' on Auto Portability
In his ongoing "Barry's Pickings" column for PLANSPONSOR, Michael Barry, president of O3 Plan Advisory Services LLC, gives the U.S. Department of Labor an 'A' for its November 2018 issuance of a proposed Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) and an Advisory Opinion on Auto Portability. Barry adds: "as a long-time advocate of the establishment of a clearinghouse, I view this as very good news."
WISER Publication Features Auto Portability
In an article carried in their WISERWoman Fall 2018 newsletter, the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER) spreads the "good news" that the U.S. Department of Labor has issued an Advisory Opinion on auto portability, clearing the path for the automatic transfer of small 401(k) balances of $5,000 or less. The WISER article also notes that women are hard-hit by retirement savings cashout leakage, with 2.4 million women cashing out $28 billion per year from 401(k) plans.
American Benefits Council Commends DOL's Approval of Auto Portability
In response to the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration’s (EBSA) recent approval of the RCH Auto Portability program, the American Benefits Council commended the agency for its efforts to address the problems of leakage and missing participants. It also suggested that the DOL extend RCH's portability exemption to pre-existing safe harbor IRAs. In a December 20th letter to the DOL, the Council voiced its support, noting that the proposed exemption “appears to include sufficient safeguards for participants, including an extensive set of notice requirements.”
Paris Dennard Identifies Auto Portability as Policy Beneficial to Minorities
In his 12/17/18 opinion piece in The Daily Caller, Paris Dennard examines some of the Trump administration's economic policies toward black Americans, identifying the Labor Department's auto portability rule change as "allowing Americans, especially minorities, the ability to preserve their retirement savings when they change jobs."
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