The number of companies making a match on their 401(k) plans has dropped by 7 percent since 2009, driven by the stock market crash of 2008 and the recession, a survey has found.
Because of the hard economic times, companies have looked for ways to cut expenses and increase profits, and many have chosen to do that by cutting back on their contributions to employee retirement accounts.
The 401k Performance Survey, conducted by American Investment Planners LLC, found that about 5 percent of 401(k) plans, or 13,811, stopped matching in 2010. An additional 2 percent stopped matching in 2011.
Forty-two percent of businesses didn't match their 401(k) in 2011.
Brett Goldstein, director of retirement planning at American Investment Planners in Jericho, N.Y., said that he has been watching this trend closely for the past four years and doesn't believe it will slow down any time soon.
