Forest Hill Advisor Jeff Judge in Yahoo Finance: Shrinking 401(k) Matches Are a Headline, Not a Crisis

By Jeff Judge, CFP®, AEP®, ChFC®, CLU®, Managing Partner, Chesapeake Financial Planners, Forest Hill, MD.

Yahoo Finance reached out this week after new SHRM research showed that employer 401(k) matches are shrinking. Fewer companies offered a match this year than last, and the average maximum has ticked down as well.

My take, which Yahoo Finance quoted: the drop sounds like a crisis. It isn't.

The real problem is that most workers aren't capturing the match they already have. If your deferral rate isn't set high enough to trigger the full match, you're leaving free money on the table, regardless of whether the company is being generous or cutting back.

The fix is simple, though not everyone takes the time to do it. First, find out exactly what your employer requires to earn the full match. Then set your contribution rate to hit it. After that, push a little higher so your total savings rate is something you chose, not something your employer decided for you.

Your own deferral rate is the one variable you control. Your employer's benefit decisions can change next year. That's the framing I bring to every retirement planning conversation I have in Harford County and across the Baltimore metro, whether someone is 15 years from retirement or starting to count months.

This piece builds on "Your 401(k) match may not be as generous as it used to be," published in Yahoo Finance on June 23, 2026: https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/article/your-401k-match-may-not-be-as-generous-as-it-used-to-be-100000215.html

Jeff Judge, CFP®, AEP®, ChFC®, CLU®, is Managing Partner at Chesapeake Financial Planners in Forest Hill, MD. Book an intro call.