There is a federal rule sitting at the Labor Department right now with a target date of September 2026 stamped on it. It has not published. And it governs something that is already happening to millions of small retirement accounts.
The rule is RIN 1210-AC21, "Exemption for Certain Automatic Portability Transactions." The Unified Agenda lists it in the final rule stage, with a proposed version dating to January 29, 2024 and a comment period that closed that March. As of this writing, no final version has appeared in the Federal Register. The agency has classified it as economically significant and major.
First, the Part Most Savers Don't Know
If you leave a job with less than $7,000 in the plan, your former employer can push that money out without asking you. SECURE 2.0 Section 304 raised that involuntary cash-out ceiling from $5,000 effective at the end of 2023. Balances above $1,000 typically land in a "safe harbor IRA" opened in your name — often in a capital-preservation vehicle that will not keep pace with a diversified portfolio over a working lifetime.
That is the starting point. Auto-portability is what happens next.
How the Transfer Actually Works
Section 120 of SECURE 2.0 created a statutory exemption under Internal Revenue Code section 4975 so a provider can charge a fee for moving that safe harbor IRA into your new employer's plan. The pending rule builds the compliance framework around it.
The mechanics matter. Providers seek affirmative consent — at enrollment in the new plan, through a secure website, or by phone. But the Portability Services Network, the consortium running this at scale, states plainly that it "will rely on negative consent to complete the roll in transaction if no participant response to properly delivered auto portability notifications."
Silence is a yes.
Fees are tiered: a $30 maximum, 5% of balance for accounts under $600, and no charge at all below $50.
Why Regulators Want This
The leakage numbers explain the urgency. EBRI research found roughly 40% of workers who leave a job cash out, with the highest cash-out rates among the smallest balances. EBRI's modeling of auto-portability projects $1.6 trillion in net incremental retirement wealth across 175.6 million Americans over 40 years — including an estimated $744 billion preserved for 98 million minority job-changers holding balances under $7,000.
Adoption is already broad. PSN's owner members include Alight, Empower, Fidelity, Principal, Vanguard, TIAA, and Retirement Clearinghouse — an estimated 63% of all defined contribution participants. More than 21,000 plans covering over 6 million workers signed on in the first two years.
What to Do About It
Open the mail. A notice about your old plan balance is not junk. Negative consent means non-response is a decision.
Inventory small balances now. A forgotten $4,000 account from three jobs ago may already be sitting in a safe harbor IRA earning very little.
Compare the alternatives. A $30 transfer fee is trivial against cashing out, which triggers ordinary income tax plus a 10% additional tax if you are under 59½.
Don't wait for the rule. You can roll an old balance into your current plan or an IRA of your choosing today — and pick the investments yourself, which auto-portability does not do for you.
Sources: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (Unified Agenda, RIN 1210-AC21); U.S. Department of Labor/EBSA (89 FR 5624); SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, Sections 120 and 304; Retirement Clearinghouse; Employee Benefit Research Institute; Portability Services Network.