401(k)

Half of all private-sector workers in the U.S. have no access to a retirement plan, study finds

By Aimee Picchi Source: CBS News Americans are continually encouraged to sock away money in a 401(k) or other retirement plan to ensure a comfortable, if not cushy, life in their later years. Yet about half of all U.S. workers in the private sector lack access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, a huge obstacle in building enough wealth to retire, a recent study finds. About 56 million workers at businesses across the U.S. are unable to save via a [...]

CORPaTH2025-07-09T09:20:22-07:00July 9th, 2025|Categories: Retirement|Tags: 401(k), Retirement Security|

The Benefits of Choosing a Job With a Pension Plan vs. 401(k) Contributions

By Deanna Ritchie Source: Microsoft Start Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that just 15% of private industry employees have access to a pension, also known as a defined benefit plan. Employers began moving away from these plans in the late 1970s when the 1978 Revenue Act began allowing employees greater control over their retirement savings by using pre-tax dollars for 401(k) contributions. Some employers saw this as a potential opportunity to reduce risk and long-term financial [...]

CORPaTH2024-10-24T16:37:19-07:00October 24th, 2024|Categories: Retirement|Tags: 401(k), Bureau of Labor Statistics, DB Plans|

The Inequity Trap: How 401(k)s Drive Earning Gaps Between Workers

By Andrew Clark Source: NPPC A new study from Vanguard outlines a predictable yet troubling reality: The vast majority of employer contributions to 401(k) plans benefit higher-income employees rather than their working-class counterparts. The study, conducted by economists from MIT, Yale, and the U.S. Census Bureau, found significant disparities in employer matches to 401(k) contributions among different demographics. Black and Hispanic workers, who typically earn lower wages compared to white workers, tend to contribute less to their 401(k) plans. [...]

CORPaTH2024-07-11T10:01:21-07:00June 28th, 2024|Categories: 401(k)|Tags: 401(k), earning gap|

Was the 401(k) a Mistake?

Source: The New York Times Jen Forbus turned 50 this year. She is in good health and says her life has only gotten better as she has grown older. Forbus resides in Lorain, Ohio, not far from Cleveland; she is single and has no children, but her parents and sisters are nearby. She works, remotely, as an editorial supervisor for an educational publishing company, a job that she loves. She is on track to pay off her mortgage in [...]

CORPaTH2024-05-09T09:54:35-07:00May 9th, 2024|Categories: 401(k)|Tags: 401(k)|

Americans leave billions in workplace 401(k) plans. DOL wants to help find their lost money.

By Courtney Degen Source: Pensions & Investments Congress has tasked the Labor Department with building a lost-and-found database to help Americans find their lost retirement savings. It's off to a rocky start. The database — mandated by the retirement package SECURE 2.0 passed in late 2022 — will allow savers who lost track of their retirement money to locate their plan administrators, which experts agree is a complex problem in need of a solution. However, the DOL’s recent proposal [...]

CORPaTH2024-04-26T15:10:54-07:00April 26th, 2024|Categories: 401(k)|Tags: 401(k), dept of labor, secure 2.0|

IBM to end 401(k) match, offer a ‘hybrid pension’: Will other employers follow suit?

By Kristen Beckman Source: Benefits Pro IBM, once a leader in the shift away from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans in the United States beginning in 1984, is now heading in a new direction with its retirement savings benefit for employees. Many industry observers wonder if other employers will follow IBM’s lead again. IBM notified employees earlier this month that it will suspend its 401(k) match and 1% automatic contribution as of Jan. 1 and will instead [...]

CORPaTH2023-12-15T10:56:33-08:00November 21st, 2023|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: 401(k), DB Plans, hybrid pension, IBM|

Traditional pension plans are pretty rare. But here’s who still has them and how they work

By Jeanne Sahadi Source: CNN The phrase “pension benefits” may come up a lot in the next several days as negotiations between the United Auto Workers union and the Big Three automakers go down to the wire to avert a strike. But for most private-sector US workers, pensions disappeared long ago. In a traditional pension, employers contribute, invest and manage retirement funds for their workers, who then receive guaranteed monthly checks for life after they retire. But over the [...]

CORPaTH2023-09-27T11:03:51-07:00September 27th, 2023|Categories: 401(k)|Tags: 401(k), pension benefits|

How different types of pension plans impact employee recruitment, retention

Source: Benefits Canada When Alaska switched its public education employees from two defined benefit pension plans to a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan, more staff left their positions, according to a new report by the National Institute on Retirement Security. The report benchmarks retirement benefit offerings among state-level plans in Alaska and nationwide, analyzing the evolution of public pension plans since the 2008/09 financial crisis. In 2005, the Alaska legislature voted to close its two statewide DB plans for teachers and [...]

CORPaTH2023-06-16T10:36:03-07:00June 13th, 2023|Categories: 401(k)|Tags: 401(k), alaska|

Trump Loses His Clutch on Your 401(k) in Department of Labor Ruling

By Eric Reed Source: Yahoo! Finance The new rule is written broadly, which means that it may let employers explore several different categories of investing. But it specifically aims to create more opportunities for ESG, or "Environmental, Social and Governance," investing. Otherwise known as impact investing, these are portfolios that invest around specific social and political goals. For example, a portfolio may explicitly choose not to invest in fossil fuels and dirty industries, or it may proactively invest in [...]

CORPaTH2022-11-30T16:24:08-08:00November 30th, 2022|Categories: 401(k), ESG|Tags: 401(k), esg|

Pension plans cheaper overall than 401(k)s, researchers find

By Emile Hallez Source: Investment News A pension research group has a message for employers: The switch from defined-benefit plans to 401(k)s has made retirement saving more expensive. That conclusion takes into account the costs borne by both employers and employees. Switching to a defined-contribution plan can of course save companies money, but the overall cost of the benefit increases, according to the National Institute on Retirement Security. The nonprofit this month published its third iteration of a paper [...]

CORPaTH2022-01-20T10:47:21-08:00January 20th, 2022|Categories: 401(k), Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: 401(k), DB Plans|