Consolidation Corner Blog
Consolidation Corner is the Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) blog, and features the latest articles and bylines from our executives, addressing important retirement savings portability topics.
How Socially Responsible Corporations Will Solve the 401(k) Cashout Crisis
Every year a silent, slow-motion train wreck occurs in America’s 401(k) system, when millions of job-changing workers prematurely cash out billions of dollars in retirement savings, a phenomenon known in retirement industry lingo as “cashout leakage."
How Sponsors can Help Minorities Save More for Retirement
Every year, our nation’s retirement system loses $92 billion in savings because 401(k) plan participants prematurely cash out their accounts when they change jobs. This is the most recent estimate from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), and while this finding affects all American workers, minorities are hit hardest.
The New Age of DC Plan Portability
A recent survey of defined contribution (DC) plan sponsors found that interest in retaining assets for retirement is on the rise. That finding, paired with certain provisions of the SECURE Act of 2019, suggests that DC plans are on a path to becoming “decumulation vehicles” for American retirees. While these developments are encouraging, persistently high levels of cashout leakage, increasing missing participants and other factors produce understandable pessimism regarding the future of DC plans.
Auto Portability 2019: The Year in Review
At Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH), we’re excited about the 2020 prospects for auto portability. Before we’re too far into a new decade, we wanted to pause, take a breath and share with you some highlights from 2019, a year that’s positioned the newest automatic, default plan feature for widespread adoption.
A Financial Wellness Program You Can Actually Measure
Although the financial wellness of employees has emerged as a top priority for employers in recent years, too many workers are still struggling to improve their financial health.
The Surprising Migratory Patterns of Job-Changing Participants
Much has been written in the media, including this column, about the increase in mobility of today’s American workforce.
The Playbook for Conducting Diligent Missing Participant Searches
Sponsors of active retirement plans are increasingly challenged by the problem of missing participants, and the difficulties they face in performing diligent searches. After all, ensuring that plan participants (or their beneficiaries) receive the benefits they’re owed is a sponsor’s primary fiduciary responsibility.
Safe-Harbor IRAs are Supposed to be Temporary
Fifteen years ago, when safe-harbor IRAs were first proposed as a destination for small, stranded 401(k) accounts that can be automatically rolled out of plans, then-U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor Ann L. Combs spelled out what these investment vehicles were supposed to accomplish.
The Auto Portability Imperative
The Most Promising Policies to Reduce 401(k) Cashout Leakage
Cashout leakage, a long-standing problem in America’s defined contribution system, is a silent crisis that unnecessarily robs millions of Americans of a comfortable, timely or secure retirement. Plagued by misunderstanding and neglect, it’s vitally important to understand the problem and to take decisive action to curb it. The fourth of a five-part series, this article addresses policies with the most promise to reduce the 401(k) cashout leakage problem.