May/June 2009

Scrambled Nest Eggs

Pensions vs. 401(k)s: What’s the difference? A quick primer.

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since 1975, companies have gone from contributing more than 90 percent of their workers’ retirement funds to pitching in less than half. How? Mostly by switching from “defined benefit” pension plans to 401(k) and similar “defined contribution” accounts. In such a shift, employees typically lose about one-third of their benefits. Some other key differences:

Pension vs 401(k)

Company assumes risk of investing

In addition to wages

Benefit depends on your salary, work history

Guaranteed by federal government

Employer pays fees and expenses

Company must contribute unless plan shut down

Employee assumes risk

Taken out of wages

Benefit depends on stock market

No guarantee

Employee pays

Company can suspend contributions
at will

 

1983 vs 2007

Percentage of workers with retirement plans who had:

Scrambled Nest Eggs Pie Charts

Source: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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