Close Close
Sign In
Newsletters
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
Podcast Center Video Center Webcasts Resource Center Events
About ThinkAdvisor Contact Us Advertise With Us Asset & Logo Licensing Sitemap Terms of Service Privacy Policy Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
ThinkAdvisor

Retirement Planning > Saving for Retirement

Bill Would Help Workers Find Their Old 401(k)s

By Melanie Waddell

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., introduced a bill Tuesday that would create a national online list of retirement accounts that have been left at an account holder’s former employer.

The Retirement Savings Lost and Found Act, introduced by Warren and Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., uses the data employers are already required to report to create the “lost and found” database. With the click of a button, any worker could locate all of their former employer-sponsored retirement accounts, the senators state.

The bill also allows employers to more easily invest abandoned accounts into target-date funds rather than money-market funds.

The senators cited research by the Government Accountability Office finding that $1,000 in a target-date account was projected to grow to $2,700 over 30 years while $1,000 in a money-market account was reduced to $0.

“Orphaned” funds with balances less than $1,000 can also be transferred to Treasury securities, such as those found in the myRA, so that balances earn a positive return. 

“When an employee leaves a job, it’s often hard for them to keep track of their retirement accounts during these transitional times,” Daines said in a statement. “This is a common-sense approach that will empower individuals to take control of their retirement future.”

Warren added that “our country faces a retirement crisis, and it’s important that all workers have a real chance to build retirement security. But today, millions of Americans are losing critical savings when they move between jobs.”

— Check out Advisors Targeting ‘Orphan’ 401(k)s Can Reap Big Rollover Rewards on ThinkAdvisor.

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.