There’s No Money Like Free Money

Also: Even Teenagers Are Worried About Inflation Now

͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  May 30, 2023 I wouldn’t turn down free money, and neither would you. But every year, slightly fewer than a quarter of employees who have access to a 401(k) at their job do just that. Most workers who contribute to their 401(k) also receive some contribution, a/k/a the company match, from their employer. And most who save through their workplace plan — 78% — made sure they put in enough to get the full match, according to Fidelity’s Q1 retirement analysis. That leaves 22% of people who either aren’t saving the amount needed to get that match or, worse, aren’t participating in their workplace plan at all. Hopefully, you’re not one of them. Saving for retirement is a marathon you run over several decades, and it requires a lot of different behaviors. If you have access to a workplace plan, use it. If your employer offers a match, try hard to save enough to get it. That’s an important way to give some extra oomph to your retirement savings — which is why it’s such an oft-repeated piece of retirement savings advice. Generally, most U.S. adults seem to greatly value the company retirement plan. In fact, more workplace plan participants say they’d choose a higher employer match (57%) over more paid time off (43%). It looks like employers are getting the memo: Fidelity found employer 401(k) contributions just hit a record high, with an average contribution of $1,950 in the first quarter of 2023, up from the previous high of $1,860 a year ago. That’s great news for retirement savers of any age. When it comes to money, it’s hard to beat free. For more on the record amount of money landing in employees’ 401(k) accounts, read our reporter Brenden Rearick’s story. — Jill Cornfield, deputy editor P.S. If you got this newsletter from a friend, sign up here for email delivery to make sure you don't miss the next issue.

More Insights and Advice from Money

family finance Even Teenagers Are Worried About Inflation Now In a recent survey from Citizens Financial Group and the nonprofit Junior Achievement, almost half of the 1,000 teens polled are most worried about how inflation will affect their futures. READ MORE Money; Getty Images

investing Investors Are Pessimistic About the Stock Market. That Could Be a Good Thing Recent data from the American Association of Individual Investors shows that only 23% of investors are bullish about the stock market in the short term. When investors are more bearish than usual, the market tends to perform better in the short and medium term. READ MORE Getty images

travel This New Vacation Calculator Can Help You Choose (and Pay for) Your Next Trip Skipping your daily croissant and large French roast for a few months probably won’t generate enough savings for a flight to Paris — but a new budgeting tool from Kayak can show you how far those spending cuts can take you. READ MORE Money; Getty Images; Shutterstock

investing Stock Ownership Is at Its Highest Level Since 2008 The percentage of Americans who own stocks has been rising steadily for six years and just reached a high not seen since 2008, according to a new poll from Gallup. What's more, older Americans are likely to be investing in the market more than ever before. READ MORE Rangely García for Money

Retirement stat of the week: 75%

Common retirement regrets have to do with investment choices, not paying off debt and not saving enough, according to a survey of retirees by Lincoln Financial. Just over a third said they would choose investments to supply a steady income stream (36%) and pay off debts sooner (34%). A quarter said they would have planned better for increased costs due to inflation. But the biggest shared regret has to do with when  people began to save for retirement, with three-quarters of retirees saying they wish they had started earlier.

Retirement 1, 2, 3

Imagine being this close to retirement, only to find out you need three more years of active service. Halloween is still a few months away, but here are some Social Security horror stories about alarming clawback letters, erroneous benefits calculations and undertrained call-center workers. The most important number to predict your retirement quality of life? It might just be your ZIP code.

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