No mention of the Department of Labor's proposed fiduciary rule was made; advance billing of the speech said the speech was to be more thematic than policy specific.

Below are several reactions the State of the Union address: a legislator, a service provider, an industry advocate, and a provider of 401(k) roll-in technology.

Rep. John Kline, R-Minnesota, Chair, House Education and Workforce Committee

Like the President, last night's State of Union Address will go down as the last for Rep. Kline. Last fall he announced he would not seek reelection in 2016.

Kline has been a bulwark in the opposition to the DOL's proposed fiduciary rule.

He has insisted the DOL prove, with documentation, that it collaborated with the Securities and Exchange Commission in formulating its proposal.

He also provoked some of the more temperamental exchanges in hearings with Labor Secretary Thomas Perez. Throughout the long debate,Kline has been as critical of the rulemaking process as he has been of the proposal's substance.

In a statement issued after last night's speech, Kline said: "Tonight we heard from a president who seems more concerned with building his legacy than building a better future for our country. No speech can convince the American people we are heading in the right direction."

He added: "The president wants us to accept the failed status quo as the new normal, and this evening's address was just the latest sales pitch."

In his statement, Kline cited retirement policy as an area he thinks has been shortchanged by the Obama Administration.

Joe Ready, head of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust

Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust administers $329.8 billion in assets for 4 million participants. Ready provided reaction after the speech, touching on the issue of benefits portability.

"The President did clearly acknowledge some of the challenges we face as a country where saving for retirement is concerned, which underscores this issue as one that is not going away anytime soon.

"We see the challenges faced by participants who are nearing retirement, as they seek to continue to grow their nest egg in anticipation of a long life in retirement, while also seeking to dampen volatility and minimize their exposure.

We also know the reality of today's world where people don't necessarily stay at the same job forever. We're talking more and more with plan sponsors who want to help people in this phase of their retirement journey – and there are things that can be done to make it easier for plan sponsors to help near-retirees with these concerns.

For example, safe harbors around in-plan annuity options could pave the way for more plan sponsors to feel comfortable offering these options to their participants who are looking for a guaranteed stream of income in retirement that is not going to be as vulnerable to market volatility.

We're also talking more to plan sponsors about options for allowing participants who are no longer with the company to keep their assets in-plan, if they choose not to roll over to an IRA or new employer 401(k). This is beginning to make sense to a lot more plan sponsors as an option, and allows participants who change companies to continue to benefit from plans with institutionally-priced investments, and access to tools associated with these types of plans."

Jason Hammersla, senior director of communications, American Benefits Council

The ABC speaks for the interests of the country's largest 401(k) plan sponsors.

Hammersla called the President's call for greater retirement savings portability "a positive thing."

He also noted the Obama White House is not the first to advance he idea. The ABC has made benefits portability a policy priority since 2014.

"The challenge is that there is some disagreement on the best way to provide that portability," said Hammersla.

"Account based plans offered by employers lend themselves well to portability. The kinds of measures that the president has supported in the past (such as state- or locally-managed retirement plans or the MyRA program) are somewhat detached from the employer-sponsored system," he added.

Sponsors are at the ready to add portability features, and providers are more than capable of delivering, thinks Hammersla.

But to do so, they will need the blessing of regulators.

"The administration can help by giving employers the flexibility to design their retirement programs in such a way as to provide portability and transparency while not creating additional compliance and administrative burdens, or adding unnecessary liability exposure that makes it difficult for employers to sponsor plans," he said.

Spencer Williams, president and CEO, Retirement Clearinghouse

Maybe no one was as pleased with the President's focus on retirement savings portability as Spencer Williams.

The issue is core to his life's work.

The Government Accountability Office estimates 10 million 401(k) participants change jobs every year. The average worker will do so 7.4 times in their lifespan, with average job tenure of 5.4 years.

That level of mobility accelerates 401(k) cash outs, resulting in billions of lost retirement savings annually. The GAO says participants cash out 2.7 percent of all 401(k) assets annually.

"We move around a lot in the workforce, but the money in our 401(k)s doesn't follow us," says Williams.

"We've improved so many areas of plan design with auto enrollment and auto escalation and qualified default investments. But we haven't created an 'automatic' solution to address the portability of plan assets," he added.

That's where Retirement Clearinghouse and Williams' team come in. They think they have the proprietary solution to help sponsors get plan assets to participants in their new jobs, so that those savings can continue to benefit from 401(k) designs.

"Portability is becoming topical in public policy circles as knowledgeable and interested parties become aware of the benefits of improving portability in the US retirement system," said Williams in response to the President's speech.

He and Retirement Clearinghouse have devoted considerable resources to the question of portability, he noted.

"We are pleased that the recognition is finally starting to occur," he added.