Since late 2023, when auto portability – as delivered via the Portability Services Network (PSN) – became operational, the new plan feature has been steadily working its way from an innovative concept into a core best practice for addressing the chronic problem of retirement plan cashout leakage.
What’s becoming increasingly clear – and frankly, increasingly inevitable – is that larger 401(k) plans are now joining the movement in meaningful numbers. That shift represents an important inflection point: one where cautious, scale‑focused plan sponsors are completing their due diligence and becoming confident that auto portability delivers real, measurable value to participants without introducing unnecessary risk.
In many respects, this is exactly how adoption was expected to unfold.
2025: Accelerated Adoption by Plan Sponsors
In 2025, auto portability’s surge in plan adoption was largely driven by recordkeeper‑led initiatives, where auto portability was included as a default service housed within a trusted, recordkeeper‑supported framework.
A noteworthy example came from Fidelity’s Q3 2025 Retirement Trends report, which disclosed that approximately 9,200 plans – roughly one‑third of Fidelity’s entire plan sponsor client base – had adopted auto portability. That figure alone underscores the rapid mainstreaming of the feature.
But headline plan counts only tell part of the story.
Participant Growth Tells the More Important Story
While total plan adoption increased by about 40% during 2025, the number of active participants covered by those adopting plans surged by an even more impressive 52%. That difference is critical. It clearly indicates that average plan size among adopters increased, confirming that larger plans were beginning to step off the sidelines.
Why does that matter? Larger plans tend to be more cautious, operating under tighter fiduciary scrutiny, managing more complex populations, and requiring greater confidence that new plan features will scale effectively. When these plans adopt a solution, it’s not experimental – it’s because the value proposition has been proven and they are comfortable with their assessment of risk.
This pattern, begun in 2025, has continued into 2026.
2026: Larger Plans Begin to Adopt in Earnest
So far in 2026, PSN has witnessed a noticeable uptick in adoption among larger 401(k) plans – many of them with participant counts ranging from 60,000 to 100,000. As Empower Retirement’s Dave Gray recently noted in Financial Advisor Magazine, the industry is seeing growing comfort levels among major plan sponsors as auto portability demonstrates consistent outcomes and delivers operational reliability.
Larger plans often take longer to adopt innovations because their threshold for proof is higher. They require clearly articulated fiduciary alignment, participant protections, and cybersecurity assurances. Auto portability has now reached a level of maturity where those requirements are now becoming self-evident.
A Growing Participant Base – and Momentum Ahead
Today, plan sponsors that have adopted auto portability represent more than 6.6 million active participants. That figure alone would have been hard to imagine just a few years ago. More importantly, it is poised to grow significantly as both the number and the average size of adopting plans continue to increase.
As larger plans come on board, the impact of auto portability compounds. Each additional large plan doesn’t just add participants – it increases network connectivity, improves match rates, and strengthens the overall system. This network effect is one of the less discussed but most powerful aspects of auto portability’s expansion: the solution becomes more effective as adoption spreads.
Strengthening the Commitment: Steve Holman Joins RCH
Another important signal of where auto portability is headed came earlier this month. On April 7, 2026, Retirement Clearinghouse announced the hire of industry veteran Steve Holman as Senior Vice President of PSN Strategy & Development.
For those who know Steve, this move speaks volumes. His experience working with large plan sponsors, service providers, and industry stakeholders makes him uniquely suited to help accelerate adoption.
Due Diligence Completed, Confidence Earned
Ultimately, the trend toward larger plan adoption reflects a simple reality: auto portability has done what any durable retirement innovation must do – it has earned trust. Larger plans are not abandoning their cautious nature; they are acting precisely as expected once sufficient evidence, experience, and infrastructure are in place.
As this trend continues through 2026 and beyond, auto portability is increasingly positioned not as a differentiator, but as a foundational feature of modern retirement plans.
And that is exactly where it belongs.