Remember that 401(k) match we promised you when we axed the pension plan? .....HA HA HA HA

[marmar]

from the NY Times:



In Need of Cash, More Companies Cut 401(k) Match

By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH and TARA SIEGEL BERNARD
Published: December 20, 2008


Companies eager to conserve cash are trimming their contributions to their workers’ 401(k) retirement plans, putting a new strain on America’s tattered safety net at the very moment when many workers are watching their accounts plummet along with the stock market.

Suspending the Match When the FedEx Corporation slimmed down its pension plan last year, it softened the blow by offering workers enriched 401(k) contributions to make up for the pension benefits some would lose. But last week, with Americans sending fewer parcels and FedEx’s revenue growth at a standstill, the company said it would suspend all of its contributions for at least a year.

“We will have to work more years and retire with less money,” said Lee Higham, a 44-year-old senior aircraft mechanic at FedEx, who has worked there for 20 years. “That’s what we are up against now.”

FedEx is not the only one. Eastman Kodak, Motorola, General Motors and Resorts International are among the companies that have cut matching contributions to their plans since September, when the credit markets froze and companies began looking urgently for cash. More companies are expected to suspend their matching contributions in 2009, according to Watson Wyatt, a benefits consulting firm.

For workers, the loss of a matching contribution heightens the pain of a retirement account balance shriveling away because of the plunging stocks markets.

“We are taking a beating,” said another FedEx mechanic, Rafael Garcia. “In a year, I lost $60,000 of my 401(k). You can’t make that up.” ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/your-money/401ks-and-similar-plans/21retire.html?_r=2&hp

[SharonRB]

1. That report was issued by my company

Watson Wyatt.

[marmar]

5. Hi Sharon.....Is that the company in the big silver building off Northwestern Hwy in Southfield?

For some reason I can visualize that name on the side of a building.

[SharonRB]

7. Yup -- that's us.

Right across from the now-closed Sunrise Cafe at Beck Road and Northwestern Highway.

[Dennis Donovan]

2. I'm old enough to remember PENSION plans they actually GAVE YOU...

...when you retired!:wow:

[SharonRB]

6. We actually still have both a pension plan

and a 401(k) plan. We're one of the few companies left that offer both, I think.

[Sherman A1]

11. Same Here

We still have a defined benefit pension plan and a 401k. The pension is because we are union and the 401k has no matching contribution by the employer (but, considering they fund the pension, I suppose that isn't unreasonable). I lost a bundle in the 401k this year, but was not counting on it to be the end all for my retirement. It was simply one leg of the stool. Not happy at all with the losses, but not much I can do about it now.

[SharonRB]

12. Same here.

I lost about a third of where I was two years ago, but considering how much the market has gone down, I thought I'd be in worse shape than I am. I didn't look at it for a while and when I finally did, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I've made back about $4,000 the last couple of weeks. We still have our match. I'm 59, so I hope it comes back faster than they think it will -- I already figure I have to work longer than I wanted to.

I did take Gov. Granholm's advice last week. I have about $750 in cash sitting in the self-directed part of our 401(k) and bought 100 shares of GM and 100 shared of Ford. We'll see what happens, but if I lose less than $800 in the worse case scenario, it won't kill me. Figured I should invest a little in the Big Three (can't invest in Chrysler, since they're private now).

[sarcasmo]

3. Spread the word folks, we are all serfs working for the top one percent.

Retirement, a word I can't understand.

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. Right!

Retirement, a word I can't understand :thumbsup:

[onethatcares]

4. I don't know why anyone would be surprised at this

the main aim of all the corporations is to make a profit in order to pay dividends to its' stockholders. This is just another kick in the nutz to the American worker bringing him inline with the global economic workforce.

Meanwhile, corporate jets are still flying CEOs around to company functions and bonuses are not being lost on wall street.

Peace

[Omaha Steve]

9. I don't have a link but a quick search should find it

I do remember NONE of the ENRON employees in a union lost a dime of their pension. While the white collar workers lost all of theirs. Unions. Some DUers hate them. I have no idea why?

[Skittles]

10. it has all been one big giant fucking scam