Ted Benna is best known as the ‘father of the 401(k).’
About 40 years ago, he created a savings plan with employee pre-tax and employer matching contributions. Benna, a retirement benefits consultant at the time, based it off a provision in the Tax Revenue Act of 1978 — paragraph k of section 401.
Four decades later, Benna is still working on getting more Americans access to retirement savings. This time, his focus is on small businesses.
While larger corporations have embraced the idea, a large chunk of U.S. workers still don’t have the opportunity to contribute to an employer plan. In fact, 36% of private-sector workers did not have access to a defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k), as of March 2018, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data.
I’ve learned the greatest benefit of a 401(k) is that it turns spenders into savers by making saving the first priority.
Ted Benna
‘father of the 401(k)’
Benna, who has authored five books including “401(k) for Dummies,”…