Issue Briefs

On October 29, 2019, the SPWG released its first Issue Brief, "Cashing Out: The Systemic Impact of Withdrawing Savings Before Retirement." The report analyzes recent research and data to quantify the vast scope of leakage from the defined contribution retirement system. It represents the most complete review of retirement leakage data to date.

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Key Findings

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•    At least 33% and as many as 47% of plan participants withdraw part or all of their

retirement plan assets following a job change. 

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•    The lost savings due to cash-outs amounts to between

$60 billion and $105 billion annually. 

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•    Approximately 4.5 to 6.4 million participants cash-out annually, which is

approximately 6.5% to 9.5% of 401(k) plan participants. 

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