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The 401k Debate

Is it time to do away with the 401k retirement plan?

wnycIn his recent Time Magazine article, Stephen Gandel wrote that the “401(k) is a lousy idea, a financial flop, a rotten repository for our retirement reserves.” The 401k was designed to supplement a company pension and Social Security, but companies have reduced or eliminated pensions and this puts millions of people at the mercy of the stock market.

Others disagree, including financial columnist and retirement planner Steven Butler, who says 401k plans have been and continue to be successful.

Here they are debating whether the 401k is an effective retirement solution on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer.

Listen to the interview

  • paulpetillo
    Writing for BoomerRetirement on 10.22.09, I suggested that a change in tax law might be the answer. It is, I reasoned, a tax code based plan and if changes are needed, it would be to this we should turn.

    It would involve a clear determination of what our retirement taxation table would be based on distribution estimates, increases in the tax deductions for 401(k)s and a penalty for paying too much in income taxes, resulting in an automatic investment into a retirement account.

    You can read the full article here: http://boomersretirement.blogspot.com/2009/10/c...
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