Spencer Williams

When employees change jobs and cash out their plan balance, they often do it over a period of years rather than all at once, according to Retirement Clearinghouse’s Spencer Williams.

When employees change jobs and cash out their plan balance, they often do it over a period of years rather than all at once, according to Retirement Clearinghouse’s Spencer Williams.

A closer reading of it sends a clear signal to plan sponsors that they should aim to keep participants invested in a qualified defined contribution plan throughout their working lives.

A closer reading of it sends a clear, if unstated, signal to plan sponsors that they should aim to keep participants invested in a qualified defined contribution plan throughout their working lives, according to Retirement Clearinghouse’s Spencer Williams.

Plan sponsors can improve the health of their plans and participants’ retirement outcomes by embracing roll-ins, yet the process remains difficult and costly for workers.

Automatic rollovers are better than cash-outs for cleaning up small 401(k) accounts, according to retirement expert Spencer Williams.

Automatic rollovers are better than cash-outs for cleaning up small 401(k) accounts, but the ideal long-term solution is for sponsors to enable seamless, automatic plan-to-plan portability.

As President Obama prepares to release his budget proposal that is expected to include a provision to expand retirement coverage among small businesses, there is an urgent need for innovative solutions to help participants take their 401(k)s with them when they change jobs.

Commentary: Auto-enrollment, codified in law by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, was drafted with the best of intentions — to increase Americans’ retirement savings — but it has had the unintended consequence of impairing plan effectiveness.

Commentary: By cutting cash-outs among 401(k) plan participants, sponsors can help more savings stay in the overall retirement system.