Despite growth in retirement plan balances in the fourth quarter, savings took a major hit in 2022 and inflation remains a concern for many Americans. Here’s how to pay off high-interest debt and make more room for retirement contributions.
U.S. households built up a cushion of savings during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they are rapidly spending it amid the highest inflation in a generation.
The savings cushion that many Americans built up during the COVID-19 pandemic is burning out as people struggle with elevated decades-high inflation, with the overall savings rate dropping below pre-pandemic levels to its lowest in almost 15 years.
A record-breaking number of Americans are making emergency withdrawals from their 401(k) retirement plans in order to cover a financial emergency as high inflation rages, according to new data from Vanguard Group.
Last year, a higher proportion of Americans with 401(k) accounts carried out hardship withdrawals emergency removal of funds from a retirement plan as many people financially struggled under decades-high elevated inflation rates.