New York, NY —
The unemployment rate in New York State shot up last month, from 5.7 to 6.1 percent. It's the biggest jump in unemployment in seven years. Citing the bad economy, Federal Express announced today it will stop offering to match its employees' 401(k) retirement plan contributions.
It does seem the 401(k) has fallen seriously out of favor. General Motors, Kodak, and Motorola have all recently suspended their 401(k) matching plans. And if you've gotten a 401(k) statement in the mail recently, well, you could be forgiven if you decided to just recycle it.
But where there is pain, some people see opportunity. My guest now hopes people's shaken faith in 401(k)'s will translate to a revival of more traditional pension plans.
Teresa Ghilarducci is a professor of economics and author of "When I'm Sixty-Four: The Plot against Pensions and the Plan to Save Them", and joins us in the studio.
