https://referently.com/tags/spousal-consent/ Recent content in spousal consent on Referently.com Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://referently.com/expanding-spousal-consent-for-401ks-the-policy-trade-offs-congress-is-weighing/ Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://referently.com/expanding-spousal-consent-for-401ks-the-policy-trade-offs-congress-is-weighing/ Extending spousal consent requirements to all defined contribution plans sounds straightforward on paper. If a spouse can veto a beneficiary change in most 401(k) plans, why can’t they veto a $50,000 withdrawal? The answer, according to a March 2026 GAO report, is a web of administrative, legal, and philosophical trade-offs that make the issue considerably more complex than it first appears. The Case for Expanding Requirements The current system is, as the GAO frames it, a historical accident. https://referently.com/how-the-federal-governments-own-retirement-plan-handles-spousal-consent-and-where-it-falls-short/ Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://referently.com/how-the-federal-governments-own-retirement-plan-handles-spousal-consent-and-where-it-falls-short/ The Thrift Savings Plan is the largest defined contribution plan in the United States, covering 7.2 million federal civilian employees and uniformed service members with $963 billion in assets as of December 2024. It is also one of the few defined contribution plans in the country that actually requires spousal consent before a participant can remove funds. A March 2026 GAO report examining spousal protections across the retirement system offers a detailed look at how the TSP’s consent framework works — including its notable gap on beneficiary designations. https://referently.com/iras-hold-17-trillion-and-offer-spouses-zero-federal-protection/ Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://referently.com/iras-hold-17-trillion-and-offer-spouses-zero-federal-protection/ The debate over spousal consent in 401(k) plans tends to overshadow a quieter but equally significant gap in the retirement protection system: Individual Retirement Accounts are entirely outside the federal spousal consent framework, and they’re bigger than the entire defined contribution plan market. According to figures cited in a March 2026 GAO report on spousal retirement protections, IRAs held $17 trillion in assets at the end of 2024, compared to $12 trillion across all defined contribution plans. https://referently.com/most-401k-plans-let-spouses-drain-retirement-accounts-without-your-knowledge/ Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://referently.com/most-401k-plans-let-spouses-drain-retirement-accounts-without-your-knowledge/ A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has confirmed what many divorce attorneys already know firsthand: the vast majority of defined contribution retirement plans — including the ubiquitous 401(k) — allow a married participant to take out loans, make withdrawals, and receive distributions without their spouse ever being informed, let alone asked. The report, GAO-26-107536, published in March 2026, was requested by members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and examined three core questions: when spousal consent is actually required, what happens to spouses when it isn’t obtained, and what the trade-offs of expanding consent requirements would be.