Stay-the-Course Retirement Ethos Keeps Pandemic Panic in Check

Auto-participation tools enacted over a decade ago are keeping retirement savers from losing it during the global pandemic, financial professionals told Bloomberg Law.

The coronavirus outbreak has decimated stock values and job markets the world over, sapping resources, alternatives and time from shell-shocked investors.

While some 401(k) balances shrank by as much as 20% during the first weeks of the health care crisis, retirement advisers are encouraged by the fact that most routine contributors aren’t cashing out to the extent Congress allowed in the $2 trillion stimulus law.

“We’re not seeing a wave of $100,000 distributions,” Nathan Voris, senior ...