401(k) Real Talk Episode 196: June 10, 2026
Welcome to this week’s edition of 401(k) Real Talk, where Fred Barstein, contributing editor for Wealth Management’s RPA channel, reviews all of last week’s industry news and selects the five most important/interesting stories.
Worth Reading:
Read the full raw transcript below:
Greetings & a warm welcome to this week’s edition of 401k Real Talk. This is Fred Barstein contributing editor at WealthManagement’s RPA omnichannel and CEO at TRAU, TPSU & 401kTV – I review all of this week’s stories and select the most important and interesting ones providing open honest and candid discussion you will not get anyway else. So let’s get real!
FIRST STORY
The May job report with 172,000 new positions added defied expectations with unemployment rates remaining steady indicating a more healthy economy than many had thought which could lead to lower interest rates with pressure form the president and a new fed chair. The average job growth over the last 3 months has been 188,000 after an anemic 2025.
Still, wage growth at 3.4% was lower than the 3.8% inflation rate and 27.5% have been unemployed for more than 27 weeks compared to 20% last May. Private education and healthcare added 610,000 jobs over the past year followed by leisure and hospitality at 240,000 and construction at 68,000 while government lost 174,000 positions followed by financial activities at 107,000 and information services at 81,000.
Still, hiring and firing has slowed down with companies not focused on recruiting with many investing in AI to take over low level tasks but the focus on retention and helping workers remains high which is becoming more expensive with rising healthcare costs.
Next story:
Leakage remains an issue with some at the recent RPA Record Keeper Roundtable last week questioning the veracity of the numbers reported by the Portability Service Network while the DOL Lost & Found database is not viable yet.
Enter the National Association of State Treasurers looking to leverage state unclaimed property programs launching the State Unclaimed Retirement Clearing House which includes 37 states and DC. The clearing house leverages state’s ability to find missing participants and help connect them with missing funds through their unclaimed property programs as they have better information on where people move to and live.
The clearing house is a voluntary program and just became operation with the ERISA Council recommending that federal law not preempt it.
NEXT STORY
RIAs and RPAs, especially aggregators funded by PE, are pushing to save money which could lead to AI everything and mission creep according to a panel at a recent BNY INSITE conference. Like frogs during a monsoon, new AI companies are popping up– the Kitces Tech Map has tripled in the past 18 months.
But are these new AI companies straying beyond their mission, what is the veracity of the underlying data and will the behemoths like Anthropic which just started a retirement focused division, eventually step in and take over? Will some larger advisory firms build their own solutions?
Like any new tech, irrational exuberance is normal but some current companies may be a solution looking for a problem.
Next Story
The finalists for the Wealthies Awards were announced with the RPA industry well represented with almost 10 categories. Unlike 401k focused awards, the Wealthies bridges the wealth and retirement industry with a new category this year on convergence.
WealthManagement is the only financial advisor publication with a 401k major focus and the Wealthies highlight DC leaders and providers while stressing the importance of the workplace for wealth advisors and their supporting providers.
FINALLY
The 401(k) record keeping business is at a major crossroad. On the one hand, plan fees continue to decline which, coupled with rising demand for service and costs, seems untenable. On the other hand, the opportunity to offer wealth services to the over 100 million active participants either alone or in partnership with advisors is immense.
Read my recent WealthManagement.com/RPA column covering the 8th Annual RPA Record Keeper Roundtable where the leading providers gathered to discuss how to leverage the opportunities and overcome the challenges.
FINISH
So those were the most important stories from the past week. I listed a few others I thought were worth reading covering:
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Over 37,000 comments on the DOL alternative investment rule.
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RIA growth accelerating at record pace
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Financial planner compensation is soaring
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Investors shying away from private credit and
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The future is bright for financial planning
Please let me know if I missed anything or if you would like to comment. Otherwise I look forward to speaking to you next week on 401k Real Talk.