![]() Today, just 12 million American workers are covered by defined benefit plans, leaving workers with 401(k)s vulnerable to declines in stock market values. Since the 1980s, employers have been shifting the market risks to their employees through 401(k) plans. As recently as 1984, 30 million Americans were covered by defined benefit pensions, through which companies bore the risk of stock market declines in order to guarantee workers a monthly check of a fixed amount. This is a drop in the bucket for such a massive corporate giant - in November 2022, Walmart announced a $20 billion stock buyback plan, which rewards shareholders by boosting the stock price.ĬEO-to-worker retirement disparities weren’t always so stark. Those who do have funds in their Walmart 401(k) have an average balance of $19,753, enough to generate a monthly retirement check of $120, according to Jobs With Justice analysis.ĭefending its meager uptake of retirement benefits, a Walmart spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that 401(k) matching cost the company $1.4 billion in 2022. Opinion: America needs to catch up to those of us who are living singleĪs a result, a whopping 46% of Walmart’s workers have a zero balance in their 401(k). Nearly 30% of all US households are comprised of just one person, according to the US Census Bureau. But it is hard to set aside money for retirement when you are trying to stretch your paycheck to buy food and pay for rent. In a separate filing, Walmart reports that it has established a 401(k) plan for each of its US employees, but, as is standard for most companies, they must contribute in order to receive the company’s 6% match. Walmart disclosed to its shareholders that its median pay for its more than two million employees around the world was just $27,136 in 2022. ![]() ![]() Walmart’s employees face a far different future. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon has amassed $169 million in his company’s deferred compensation plan, enough to deliver McMillon a monthly retirement check of $1 million. Our nation’s largest private employer, Walmart, illustrates the problems looming in the American retirement system, and how pay disparities between CEOs and employees have become the norm in Corporate America. The average Social Security monthly check was just $1,784 in March 2023 - meaning too many retirees are living in or on the brink of poverty. Meanwhile, the median value of workers’ 401(k) plans invested with Vanguard was just $33,472, which would yield a monthly check of about $200 to supplement Social Security.Ībout 40% of America’s retirees rely exclusively on Social Security, according to a 2020 study by the National Institute on Retirement Security. If these CEOs invested their retirement bounty in an annuity, they would receive a monthly retirement check of nearly $111,000, according to Jobs With Justice analysis. Among S&P 500 CEOs with company-provided retirement benefits, their average account was $19.4 million at the end of 2021, according to a new report by the Institute for Policy Studies and Jobs With Justice, which I co-authored. While America’s workers struggle to save for retirement, their CEO bosses are continuing to hoard wealth, deepening the retirement divide in the US. ![]() Of those not feeling confident in their retirement security, four in 10 workers reported it was because they had little to no savings. The survey, which has been conducted annually for 33 years, found that the decline in confidence since 2022 was the most precipitous since the 2008 global financial crisis. ![]() Opinion: This is the truth about ‘Bidenomics’ President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy, Wednesday, June 28, 2023, at the Old Post Office in Chicago. ![]()
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