401(k)  (k)  n. A retirement investment plan that allows an employee to put a percentage of earned wages into a tax-deferred investment account selected by the employer. Also called salary reduction plan. |
| salary reduction plan n. See 401(k). |
salary reduction plan
Case Study Salary reduction plans offer substantial tax benefits, yet at the same time they can place employee contributions at considerable risk depending on what type of investments are used to fund the plans. Especially risky are plans that invest all or most of the contributions in the employer's common stock. Consider the example of energy conglomerate Enron Corporation, whose stock tumbled nearly 99% to 60¢ per share in the 12 months ending November 2001. At of the end of 2000 approximately half of Enron's $2.1 billion 401(k) plan was invested in Enron common stock. Enron's policy was to match employee contributions at 50¢ on the dollar, for up to 6% of an employee's salary. Like many major corporations, Enron made its contributions to the firm's plan in company stock. Employees were permitted to select alternative investments, but many chose to use Enron shares to fund their contributions. As Enron shares plummeted many employees of the company saw virtually the entire value of their individual 401(k) plans evaporate at the same time as they faced the possibility of losing their jobs in a company that filed for bankruptcy. |