From CFO.com: “Study Shows Workers Sticking with Retirement Plans.” Excerpt:
U.S. employees seem to be resisting the temptation to save less in their retirement accounts, a Hewitt Associates survey shows.Savings rates have barely dropped, from 8 percent in 2007 to 7.8 percent in 2008, although there is a predictably aggressive shifting of assets from equities to more other investments. What’s more, just 4 percent of employees have terminated their 401(k) plan contributions altogether this year, according to the analysis by Hewitt, a global human resources consulting company.
So, how bad does the survey show 401(k) investors being hit? The analysis of 2.7 million U.S. employees measured the average 401(k) plan balance as falling 14 percent through 2008, to $68,000 from $79,000 in 2007. In the past two months alone, employees on average have lost nearly 18 percent of their 401(k) plan savings. Some have lost more than 30 percent.