American companies are trying to stop employees from raiding their 401(k)s, in an attempt to ensure that older workers can afford to retire and make room for younger, less-expensive hires, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis today. Employers of all types are taking steps to better inform workers of the financial implications of borrowing from their retirement accounts and pulling the money out when they leave jobs. Tapping or pocketing retirement funds early, known in the industry as leakage, threatens to reduce the wealth in U.S. retirement accounts by about 25 percent when the lost annual savings are compounded over 30 years, according to an analysis by economists at Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research.
