Thomas Hawkins

 In a previous post, Tales from the Roll-In Front Lines, Part I, we described a roll-in transaction gone awry: a comedy of errors that occurs all too often when service providers are unfamiliar with consolidating retirement savings from one plan into another.

 In previous articles, we’ve discussed the many benefits that occur when participants roll in multiple retirement savings accounts into their current employer’s 401(k) account. Participants benefit from reduced cash outs, lower investment fees and simplified retirement planning. A program of facilitated roll-ins delivers positive results for plans as well, including increased average balances, lower recordkeeping costs and improved retirement readiness metrics.

In his December 1, 2015 article (The unintended consequence of 401(k) auto-enrollment), RCH CEO Spencer Williams exposes the linkage between auto enrollment and lower average account balances.  Based on Form 5500 data, Williams’ analysis presents some excellent examples of industries where average balances are significantly lower in plans that have adopted auto enrollment compared to plans that haven’t. 

 With attention-grabbing headlines about major security breaches occurring almost daily, plan sponsors need to be assured that their service providers are on guard 24-7, protecting sensitive information and intellectual property, wherever it may reside.

Today, it’s a commonly-accepted practice for plan sponsors to focus on three major initiatives in order to promote retirement adequacy: participation, saving and diversification. While these concepts are proven, the emerging best practice is to incorporate the principle of consolidation, so that plan sponsors will begin to focus on participation, consolidation, saving and diversification.

Gaining Comfort That an External Plan Service Provider Has Adequate Security and Controls