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While the financial damage done by the pandemic is leading many Americans to rein in their retirement expectations or delay retirement, the number of companies cutting or suspending 401(k) matches remains below the level seen during the 2008 financial crisis, according to a pair of recent surveys.
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Barronâs roundup of news and research to help you make informed decisions and gauge your relative retirement readiness.
Survey: Many Workers Plan to Delay Retirement
Half of all American workers living paycheck to paycheck now expect to delay retirement because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey from the insurance brokerage and advisory company Willis Towers Watson.
December 31, 2020 7:54 AM newsfeedback@fool.com (Catherine Brock)
Posted:
Updated:
January 2, 2021 7:10 AM
According to Plan Sponsor Council of America, 11.5% of small companies suspended or reduced their employer match in 2020. That’s just another bad milestone for a year that brought a pandemic, social unrest, and massive unemployment.
But as the year comes to a close, there’s some good news. A new survey by global-advisory firm Willis Towers Watson concludes that most employers that cut their matching contributions in the COVID-19 era are planning to reinstate them in 2021.
Any changes to your employer match should signal you to run some numbers and find out how those changes affect your savings plan. An increasing employer match might allow you to shoot for more aggressive savings goals.
Author Bio
Maurie Backman is a personal finance writer who s passionate about educating others. Her goal is to make financial topics interesting (because they often aren t) and she believes that a healthy dose of sarcasm never hurt anyone. In her somewhat limited spare time, she enjoys playing in nature, watching hockey, and curling up with a good book.
Millions of individuals have been hurt by the coronavirus pandemic namely, those who have lost their jobs since the outbreak began. But companies are feeling the pain, too, and are cutting corners to try to conserve resources.
One area they re cutting is 401(k) contributions. A good 8% of employers have reduced their 401(k) contributions in recent months, reports the Plan Sponsor Council of America, and more are considering joining their ranks.
The U.S. new cases 7-day rolling average are 3.1 % HIGHER than the 7-day rolling average one week ago. U.S. deaths due to coronavirus are now 11.9 %
HIGHER than the rolling average one week ago. U.S. hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are now 6.2 %
HIGHER than the rolling average one week ago. Today s posts include:
U.S. Coronavirus New Cases are at a record 247,000
U.S. Coronavirus deaths are at a record 3,656
U.S. Coronavirus hospitalizations are at a record 113,069
The 7-day rolling average rate of growth of the pandemic shows new cases marginally worsened, hospitalizations marginally improved, and deaths worsened
Stay-at-Home Orders Not An Effective Tool In Government Pandemic Response.
The U.S. blew past records for daily new Covid-19 cases and virus deaths on Wednesday, as the national crisis continues to worsen. More than 247,000 new infections and more than 3,600 Covid deaths were reported on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University data, the highest single-day tallies yet. A record 113,000 people are currently hospitalized with the virus, according to The Atlantic s COVID Tracking Project. The new and disheartening highs come at the same time the U.S. is beginning a vaccine rollout.
The U.S. is recording at least 215,729 new Covid-19 cases and at least 2,570 virus-related deaths each day, based on a seven-day average calculated by CNBC using Johns Hopkins University data.