The typical American worker stays at a job for only four years.As many find out, switching employers can wreak havoc on yourretirement plan.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates two in fiveemployees cash out small 401(k) balances when theyleave their jobs. In the process, they pay taxes and penaltieswhile never giving their money a chance to grow. Or, workers canend up accumulating a collection of 401(k) plans throughout theircareers, with small balances spread out at various old employers.It’s a huge hassle to roll those old 401(k)s into a current 401(k)or into an individual retirement account, and it’seasy to lose track of what you’ve saved, and where.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, the voluble Democrat fromMassachusetts, thinks we need a “Retirement Savings Lost andFound.” Along with Montana Republican Senator Steve Daines, Warrenon Tuesday introduced a bill that would create a database of yourold retirement accounts. The bill would also allow abandonedretirement accounts to be invested in target-date mutual funds, anincreasingly popular option that invests in a mix of stocks andbonds based on a participant’s age and retirement date. Rightnow, many stranded 401(k) accounts end up in cash, where theirvalue is steadily eroded by inflation.

“This is a commonsense approach that will empower individuals totake control of their retirement future,” Daines said in astatement.

The bill is one of several efforts to fix the retirementrollover problem. Others have suggested creating a “retirementclearinghouse,” a place where 401(k) balances can sit while workersare between jobs. When they get a new job, they can pull their oldbalances into their new 401(k).

For Warren, a “Retirement Savings Lost and Found” is a baby steptoward a larger goal, as enunciated in a speech at the New America Foundation lastmonth: Retirement plans should be available to everyone, she said,including the part-timers, gig workers and many other workers whohave no easy way to save at work.

Several states -- including Connecticut, California, Illinois,Maryland, and Oregon -- have offered their own solution to thisproblem: State-sanctioned retirement plans that follow workers fromjob to job. In her speech last month, Warren suggested unions orother organizations might hire private firms to set up portable,high-quality retirement plans.

“It’s time for all workers to have access to the same low-cost,well-protected retirement products that some employers and unionsprovide today,” she said. The benefits to workers would be obvious,she said, but employers would also benefit by unloading theresponsibility for retirement planning on others.

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