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.

Much has been written in the media, including this column, about the increase in mobility of today’s American workforce.

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.

401(k) account cash-outs remain a potent threat to Americans’ retirement-readiness and by all accounts the U.S. Department of Labor agrees, having issued its final Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) for auto portability at the end of July.

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 third of a five-part series, this article addresses the magnitude of the 401(k) cashout leakage problem.

Automatic rollovers of small, stranded 401(k) savings accounts are, on the surface, helpful for plan sponsors to keep their plans lean and healthy. However, “on the surface” is the key part of the previous sentence.

On July 31st, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released the final Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) to Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) for the RCH Auto Portability program, completing the regulatory framework and clearing the way for auto portability’s widespread adoption.   

This new development represents an important milestone on the path to auto portability, a private-sector innovation that will help prevent 401(k) cashout leakage, increase plan efficiencies and improve the prospects of a timely, comfortable and secure retirement for millions of Americans.

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.