Blogs & Newsletters
08/25/10

Spike in 401(k) loans and withdrawals

Thinking about tapping into your 401(k) early? Think again – at least if you want a shot at a secure retirement. In a recent report, Fidelity Investments notes that the percentage of Fidelity customers who borrowed from their 401(k)s increased over the past year from nine to 11 percent. Currently, a whopping 22 percent of account […]

Blogs & Newsletters
10/09/09

TIME Magazine says, “Time to Retire the 401(k)”

With the provocative title, “Time to Retire the 401(k),” the cover story of today’s issue of TIME is a must-read. The article provides a stinging indictment of the do-it-yourself savings plan that has come to dominate our patchwork retirement system. Author Stephen Gandel writes If you have even peeked at your account statements in the […]

Blogs & Newsletters
07/08/09

Relighting the match

Last week Zep Inc. announced plans to reinstate its 401(k) matching contributions.  This move comes six months after the company suspended its match and cut executive pay to reduce costs.  At the time, Zep’s CEO said that restoring the match would be the top priority when the company returned to profitability.  Currently, Zep is restoring […]

Blogs & Newsletters
03/20/09

The Office gets a 401(k) reality check

It isn’t uncommon to hear people comparing NBC’s hit television show, The Office, to their own workplaces.  Many of the events on the show mirror what happens in offices across the country.  But for many people last night’s episode hit a little too close to home. In case you didn’t catch the episode, a vice […]

Blogs & Newsletters
02/05/09

Taking a few steps back

A new report from the Congressional Research Service shows that we still have a long way to go when it comes to ensuring that American workers are covered by workplace retirement plans. In fact, we’ve taken a few steps back. According to the report: Fewer private-sector workers were offered a workplace retirement plan in 2006 […]

Blogs & Newsletters
10/07/08

Current economic crisis helps make the case for guaranteed pensions

During the last few weeks, the Wall Street roller coaster has wreaked havoc on the economy and the retirement assets of the millions of American workers with 401(k) plans. For workers who, like me, are relatively young and decades away from retiring, the current economic crisis doesn’t make me terribly anxious about my 401(k). While […]

Blogs & Newsletters
07/17/08

Robbing your retirement piggy bank

By Nancy Hwa In an earlier blog post, we discussed efforts in Congress to make it easier for people to withdraw money from their 401(k) accounts to save their homes from foreclosure. Such withdrawals are part of a larger problem with 401(k)s known as “leakage” (what a lovely name!) – loans, early withdrawals, and lump-sum […]

Blogs & Newsletters
07/03/08

Cashed Out: Congress might make it easier for people to dip into their 401(k)s

By Joellen Leavelle In down economic times, it isn’t uncommon for people to feel the urge to dip into their assets to help make ends meet. Therefore, it isn’t a surprise to hear that more and more people are borrowing from their 401(k) plans for a little extra cash. Some people are even paying hefty […]