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Re-activateIn times like these, it pays to be open to shrewd financial advice, no matter where it comes from. So in that spirit, here's a money tip from Janis Joplin: Get it while you can.
Joplin and her songwriters may have had something else in mind, but their recommendation hit home the other day when this Associated Press article called attention to a disturbing new trend. More and more companies, it seems, are cutting back on or altogether eliminating their 401(k) matches, due to the current financial mess.
This won't affect the many Americans who have already stopped contributing to their 401(k)s, due to financial woes of their own. But it's not great news for the rest of us.
A few beleaguered corporations does not a national trend make, of course, so I don't believe mass hysteria is called for, yet. What this says to me, though, is that those of us who are deciding how much to put into our 401(k)s this year would do well to scrape up at least enough to get that employer match...while we can. —Greg Daugherty
PS: If you're able to contribute the maximum to your 401(k) in the coming year, note that the limits have increased.
Greg writes the "Retirement Guy" column each month in the Consumer Reports Money Adviser newsletter.
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