PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 28

WELLNESS STRATEGIES
Dangers of Debt
Participants must find their financial footing to save for retirement
S
truggles with debt can strike anyone
at any time, for any number of
reasons. How to best juggle financial
assets vs. liabilities then becomes a
challenge, and many employees grapple
with how, or whether, to maintain their
retirement contributions.
Unfortunately, this year's job losses
and company lockdowns struck at a
time when debt had reached staggering
heights. Workers were already feeling the
weight, and half of all surveyed for the
2020 Retirement Confidence Survey from
the Employee Benefits Research Institute
(EBRI) said debt has hindered their ability
to save for retirement.
To pay off their growing debt, many
retirement plan participants may be
tempted to tap loan options and assistance
funds for purposes they were not
meant to fulfill, says Heather Lavallee,
president of tax-exempt markets at Voya
Financial, in West Hartford, Connecticut.
These include fund options made accessible
by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and
Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed
by Congress in late spring, to provide
economic relief to those the pandemic
had hurt financially. Under the act, some
plan participants had expanded withdrawal
and loan options available from
their retirement account.
28 PLANSPONSOR.COM October - November 2020
Art by Daniel Shaffer
" Hopefully, they are not using these
CARES Act funds to help reduce debt, " says
Lee V. Bethel, president of Comprehensive
Benefit Services Inc. in Washington, D.C.
" Their retirement accounts are intended
for retirement, and using them to reduce
debt isn't what they're for. Participants
need to understand both the potential tax
consequences and the loss of funds for
retirement, before using their retirement
accounts to reduce debt. "
Is it advisable for plan participants
to reduce or even delay contributions to
their retirement account in order to pay off
other debt? It often can be. Whether to do
so can be gauged after looking at the cost

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PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020

Time to Take Stock
2020 DC Survey: Plan Benchmarking
Dangers of Debt
Everyone Has a Stake
ESG Across Asset Classes
'Onboard' Education
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - Cover1
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - Cover2
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 1
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 2
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 3
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 4
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 5
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 6
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 7
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 8
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 9
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 10
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 11
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 12
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 13
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 14
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 15
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - Time to Take Stock
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 17
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 18
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 19
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 2020 DC Survey: Plan Benchmarking
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 21
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 22
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 23
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 24
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 25
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 26
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 27
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - Dangers of Debt
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 29
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - Everyone Has a Stake
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 31
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - ESG Across Asset Classes
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 33
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 'Onboard' Education
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 35
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 36
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 37
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 38
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 39
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - 40
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - Cover3
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2020 - Cover4
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