In my work here at the Pension Rights Center, one of my responsibilities is to update the list of companies that have suspended matching 401(k) contributions. This week I’ve had to add more than 15 companies to this list. Even worse, some of these companies are suspending matching 401(k) contributions and freezing their traditional pensions, leaving more and more workers out in the cold. (more…)
With the stock market tanking, people saving for retirement through their company’s 401(k) plan have yet another reason to worry: more and more employers are suspending their 401(k) matching contributions. This means that some workers will no longer receive a dollar-for-dollar match from their employer for the money that they themselves contribute to their 401(k). (more…)
Look Before You Leap: The Unintended Consequences of Pension Freezes, a new issue brief from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS), makes the case for why pension freezes aren’t always a good idea for state and local governments. (more…)
Last week General Motors announced plans to temporarily suspend the practice of making matching contributions to their employees’ 401(k) accounts. This cut, coupled with the impact of the reeling stock market, only adds to the sense of retirement insecurity felt by workers who have seen the nation’s pension and 401(k) account balances plummet by as much as $2 trillion in the past year and a half.
Now, as the Washington Post points out, workers are increasingly finding that they will have to fend for themselves when it comes to their retirement security. (more…)
Happy 34th Birthday, ERISA!
Today marks the 34th anniversary of the date that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, known to those in the field of pensions as ERISA, was signed into law. In a tribute to the workers who would be helped by the new law, that day, September 2, 1974, fell on Labor Day. (more…)
You may have read that last week newspaper publisher Gannett announced that it will freeze its pension plan for all employees as of August 1, 2008. The company announced the freeze and details of its plan to “enhance” the company 401(k) in a memo sent to employees.
Gannett is just one of many employers that we have added to our growing list of companies that have changed their defined benefit plans. (more…)
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