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As Baby Boomers begin to retire in record numbers, they’re shifting their attention from saving for retirement to the process of decumulation, or converting their 401(k) savings into retirement income.

For many Boomers, their current-employer’s 401(k) plan wants to come to the rescue, offering them a dizzying array of retirement income solutions. Unfortunately, as these solutions begin to encounter reality, Boomers are finding that one simple, yet critical element is missing that prevents them from working as intended – the consolidation of their retirement savings.

Plan sponsors intuitively know that an explosion of small-balance 401(k) accounts held by terminated participants can create problems.  Unfortunately, few sponsors are clear on the factors that give rise to small accounts, and fewer still understand how they can utilize consolidation programs to solve the problem.

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.

When Ben Franklin coined the adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” he wasn’t considering the problem of missing participants, but 401(k) plan sponsors would be wise to heed Ben’s sage advice.  

Today, plan sponsors face an explosion of missing participants, driven by the ongoing adoption of auto enrollment and increasing workforce mobility.  Their problems are further compounded by the administrative burden required to locate them, combined with a regulatory minefield that offers little guidance and is prone to taking inconsistent enforcement actions.  

Over the past six years, there’s been a steady drumbeat pointing the way to increased portability and in-plan consolidation (“roll-ins”) as the next big strategic focus for defined contribution plans.   

While this path may soon lead to the widespread adoption of auto portability, a process that automatically rolls in small balances into a participant's new-employer plan, many plan sponsors are already embracing programs that support roll-ins for all participants, regardless of balance size.

In consolidated testimony before the ERISA Advisory Council  on the topic of Participant Plan Transfers and Account Consolidation for the Advancement of Lifetime Plan Participation, EBRI’s Craig Copeland and Retirement Clearinghouse’s Tom Johnson presented “Auto Portability Research & Simulation: Automating Plan-to-Plan Transfers for Small Accounts” – providing the Council with the latest information & research on Auto Portability, as well as describing the present state of plan-to-plan transfers (“roll-ins”).

What is Auto Portability? This video presentation is designed to give the viewer a basic understanding of Auto Portability.

This January, LIMRA’s Secure Retirement Institute is promoting their research on Auto Portability, which contains an impressive array of information.

In his latest article in MarketWatch, posted on New Year’s Eve, RCH President, CEO and RetireMentor Spencer Williams counsels those who switched jobs in 2016 to make their New Year’s resolutions to roll-in all of their retirement savings accounts – not just the account in their most recent prior-employer plan – into their new-employer plan.

As 2016 draws to a close, most observers will reflect upon the events that have dominated retirement industry news coverage:  the Fiduciary Rule, the 10-year anniversary of the Pension Protection Act, and the Presidential election. These events will clearly shape plan sponsors’ activities and priorities for the New Year.