As 2025 kicks off, millions of Americans are setting ambitious financial goals. According to a Motley Fool survey, nearly 70% of Americans have made a financial-related resolution for 2025, and 64% are confident they’ll meet their goals this year, per New York Life’s 2025 New Year Outlook Wealth Watch survey. However, fragmented retirement savings are holding many back from achieving these resolutions.
The modern workforce is more mobile than ever. The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) estimates that the average American will have 9.9 jobs over 45 years. This frequent job-hopping creates a significant challenge: scattered and forgotten retirement savings. Without a seamless way to consolidate 401(k) accounts, employees risk losing track of their hard-earned savings, making it harder to achieve their financial goals.
In this article, we’ll explore how the lack of a seamless 401(k) portability solution impacts retirement savings and how Manifest provides the tools to help employees stay on track with their 2025 resolutions.
The Job-Switching Reality
The days of staying with one employer for life are over. Today’s workforce is highly mobile, with employees changing jobs frequently throughout their careers. While this mobility opens new opportunities, it also creates a risk: scattered, forgotten retirement savings. Every job change is a chance to secure—or lose—your financial future.
As employees move from one employer to another, they often leave behind old 401(k) accounts. Our data reveals that participants average 2.8 retirement accounts each. Without a seamless way to consolidate these accounts, participants face significant challenges:
- Higher fees: Maintaining multiple accounts results in duplicate administrative and management fees that eat into retirement savings.
- Lost growth opportunities: Scattered accounts often remain underinvested, missing out on potential market growth.
- Reduced engagement: Managing multiple accounts can feel overwhelming, discouraging participants from taking proactive steps toward financial health.
This fragmentation hits participants where it hurts. Smaller accounts often fall below minimum investment thresholds, locking savers into worse investment options or higher fees. Even worse, many lose track of these accounts entirely, putting their long-term retirement security at risk.
Fragmented accounts also create inefficiencies for plan sponsors. Administrative burdens increase, and the lack of economies of scale limits their ability to negotiate favorable terms with providers. This system, designed for an era of long-term employment, no longer aligns with the needs of a mobile workforce.
The Trillion-Dollar Opportunity
The financial impact of making 401(k)s more portable is huge. When employees can move their retirement savings seamlessly between jobs, it helps them keep more of their hard-earned money and stay on track for a secure retirement. For example:
- Reduced cash-out rates: When participants can easily transfer accounts, they’re far less likely to cash out, avoiding penalties and taxes that diminish long-term savings.
- Improved financial equity: Workers with lower incomes or less financial literacy are disproportionately affected by the current system. A seamless portability solution can help close this gap.
The current system’s limitations are costly. Without portability, retirement savings are often lost or depleted. Plan sponsors, meanwhile, absorb the cost of managing dormant accounts, diverting resources from more impactful initiatives.
By implementing seamless portability solutions, the retirement system can create more equitable outcomes while preserving wealth for future generations.
Making Financial Goals Achievable
The lack of a seamless 401(k) portability solution is a major barrier to achieving 2025 financial resolutions. Manifest’s platform addresses this issue by simplifying the consolidation process, enabling participants to consolidate accounts in as little as 10 minutes digitally. The results speak for themselves:
- Improved participant outcomes: Consolidation reduces fees and increases engagement, with participants seeing an average balance increase of $13,450.
- Fewer cash-outs: Simplified processes lower the likelihood of cash-outs by 54%, preserving long-term savings.
- Cost savings for plan sponsors: Streamlined administration reduces costs associated with managing fragmented accounts, freeing up resources for other priorities.
The benefits of digital solutions extend beyond financial gains. Participants who consolidate their accounts often report greater confidence in managing their retirement savings. This sense of control encourages more active engagement, such as increasing contributions or exploring additional investment opportunities.
Real-life examples highlight the value of digital solutions. One participant left three small accounts at previous employers when they changed jobs. Using Manifest, they easily consolidated their savings into a single account, reducing fees and gaining greater control over their investments. The process took less than 15 minutes, demonstrating how accessible and effective digital tools can be.
Plan sponsors, too, benefit from improved efficiency and enhanced participant satisfaction. By offering a seamless consolidation process, sponsors demonstrate their commitment to supporting employees’ financial goals.
How Plan Sponsors Can Take Action
For plan sponsors, integrating the first and only plan-to-plan 401(k) transfer tool like Manifest helps participants while reducing administrative complexity. Here are actionable steps to consider:
- Evaluate your current plan structure: Assess how fragmented accounts impact fees, participant outcomes, and overall plan efficiency. Use data analytics to identify opportunities for improvement.
- Partner with Manifest: we seamlessly bring our consolidation solution into existing plans as a provider-agnostic add-on, minimizing friction while maximizing impact.
- Educate participants: Inform employees about the benefits of consolidation and provide resources to guide them through the process. Clear communication can significantly improve participation rates.
- Monitor outcomes: To measure the success of your portability initiatives, track key metrics, such as reduced cash-out rates and increased average account balances.
By taking these steps, you can transform retirement plan management into a more efficient, participant-centered experience.
Achieving Financial Resolutions Through Portability
As the second-largest source of wealth in the U.S today, 401(k)s are not meant to be stationary. From one job to the next, there should be an easier way to move them - and now, there is.
Manifest’s digital platform makes account consolidation effortless. Whether you’re a plan sponsor looking to optimize costs or a participant striving to meet your financial goals, Manifest provides a way to keep your retirement savings invested and growing.
Ready to support your participants’ goals for the year? Schedule a demo today and get set up in an hour or less.
