Student loan debt linked to lower 401(k) balances
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Across age, income and education levels, people who are still paying down college debt on average had much smaller defined-contribution plan balances and in some cases were less likely to own a home, according to a study from the Employee Benefit Research Group.
Two economic trends have unfolded over the past three decades that, in combination, appear to have made it much harder for workers to financially prepare for retirement: a crushing level of student loan debt and the switch from pensions to 401(k)s.
With the burden squarely on individual workers t
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