Blog

On May 22^nd, at a Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER) roundtable addressing strategies, choices and decisions for women’s retirement income, important new data was presented that highlights the challenges faced by women in preserving their 401(k) savings when changing jobs – particularly for women with balances less than $5,000.

No man is an island entire of itself; every man

is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;

if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe

Despite differences big and small, all retirement plan sponsors and record-keepers experience at least one common problem—the seemingly intractable incidence of participants who have left behind small accounts in the plans sponsored by their former employers and failed to update their address when they subsequently change residence, a.k.a. missing participants.

On November 7^th, Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) issued a press release announcing the results of the first-ever implementation of auto portability, as evaluated by Boston Research Technologies (BRT)’s Warren Cormier in his just-published white paper “Making the Right Choice the Easiest Choice: Eliminating Friction and Leaks in America’s Defined Contribution System.”

The pace of change in today’s world is faster than ever -- and accelerating.  Consider the vast change witnessed by today’s centenarians over the course of their lives – moving from the horse-and-buggy to aviation, moon landings, the Internet and smartphones.

In his May 9th article in MarketWatch’s Retirement Mentors blog, RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams offers sage advice to college graduates as they enter the workforce:  consolidate your retirement savings!

In his December 11^th article in BenefitsPro (Addressing the Critical Problem of 401(k) Cash Outs), Nick Thornton draws much-needed attention to the magnitude of the 401(k) cash out leakage issue, due to the frictions associated with account portability when plan participants switch jobs. Thornton’s article rightly emphasizes the need for automated portability – similar to automatic enrollment and deferral increases - to effectively address the cash out problem. 

In his 11/16/15 MarketWatch article Boomers need to consolidate retirement accounts immediately RCH President & CEO J. Spencer Williams notes that the baby boomer generation, which is closest to retirement age, stands to benefit the most from consolidating their retirement savings, vs. leaving their accounts behind at former employers.