Why It’s Time to Retire the 401(k) – Part 2

A Brief History of the 401(k)
 
Congress was trying to close a loophole on executive bonuses when it created the 401(k). Most companies intended 401(k)s — which were originally called salary-reduction plans but then renamed for the portion of the tax code that makes them possible — to be a perk for highly paid executives, not [...]

Why It’s Time to Retire the 401(k) – Part 1

Retiree Robert Shively spends his days on the golf course. For many, that would be a dream come true, but not quite in the way Shively does it. The 68-year-old is the cart mechanic at the Niagara Falls Country Club.
Two and a half decades ago, his then employer, Occidental Petroleum Corp., cut its traditional defined [...]