Options After Losing Retirement Match

Summary

Podcast Summary: Jill on Money with Jill Schlesinger

Episode: Options After Losing Retirement Match
Air Date: March 13, 2026
Host: Jill Schlesinger, CFP®
Guest: Elizabeth from Connecticut

Episode Overview

This episode tackles a pressing question many listeners may face: what to do when your employer suddenly removes its retirement plan match. Jill takes a detailed call from Elizabeth, a mid-career professional whose employer has stopped matching the generous 9% contribution to her 403(b) due to company financial strains. The discussion goes beyond just numbers, touching on workplace loyalty, career satisfaction, and making confident financial decisions amid uncertainty.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Elizabeth’s Situation & Financial Snapshot

• Match Withdrawal: Elizabeth’s employer stopped its 9% retirement match due to company financial issues.

  “So no match? No. Like, what a great way to engender loyalty. Okay, whatever. That's the stupidest thing that companies do.” – Jill (04:06)

• Personal & Household Finances:
  • Elizabeth: 36, married, $130k–$135k salary (no bonus), contributes the maximum to her 403(b), recently switched entirely to Roth contributions.
  • Husband: 39, $205k with bonuses, also maxes out his 401(k) (traditional).
  • Retirement & Investments:
    • Elizabeth: $235k in 403(b) (mostly traditional, some Roth), $1,800 in Roth IRA, $2,400 in new brokerage
    • Husband: $375k in 401(k), $47k Roth IRA, $148k brokerage
  • Savings: $40k in savings, $3k HSA, own home (~$505k value, $327k mortgage at 2.87%)
  • No children; finances kept largely separate but it works well for them.

2. Emotional Impact of Losing the Match

• Elizabeth feels discouraged despite strong savings habits, having just started to save $1,000/month in a brokerage account.
• Jill reframes the setback:

  “Don't feel defeated. First of all, you're saving. You're saving a lot of money because you're maxing out your retirement account.” – Jill (10:40)

3. Advice on Next Moves

Ongoing Savings

• Keep Retirement Contributions High:

  “You can get a lot more money, a lot more Roth money into that 403B than you can an IRA…We want you to absolutely, absolutely, positively have that, that money getting shoveled in there as much and as quickly as possible.” – Jill (16:59)

• Continue Brokerage Contributions: Jill strongly encourages keeping up with the plan of $1,000/month—prioritize automating it to boost consistency.
• Communication: Suggests Elizabeth frame social plans with friends around her savings goals, replacing costly outings with walks, especially since human connection is the real goal.

Career Considerations

• Job Search:
  • Jill strongly advises Elizabeth to “look and see what’s out there,” especially since the employer may have further cuts or layoffs.
  • “But I would never quit without having a job. Not. No way. Absolutely not.” – Jill (14:41)
  • Jill validates Elizabeth’s instincts to use this change as a catalyst to explore potentially higher-paying, more structured roles.
• Proactivity for Emotional Well-being:

  “Looking will make you feel like you're doing something, you're taking some action. And that always feels so much better.” – Jill (15:10)

  • If layoffs happen, at least the process of job searching will already be underway.

Spousal Dynamics and Savings

• Husband is a strong saver, planning to put $50k into brokerage this year after recently cash-flowing several house projects:

  “Oh, yes. I love his saving habit. You've chosen well, lady. You've chosen very well.” – Jill (16:22)

Insurance & Estate Planning

• Life Insurance: Both have basic work coverage (~$300k), but Jill recommends a private term policy (~$500k for 15 years each) to bridge until they’re “fully self-insured.”
• Wills: Both have wills in place—good estate hygiene.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Losing the Match:
  “What a great way to engender loyalty. Okay, whatever. That's the stupidest thing that companies do.” – Jill (04:06)

• On Being Honest with Spending:
  “I am the spender in our marriage, so... I do love to buy nice clothes. And, you know, I go out for coffee with.. I have many friends.” – Elizabeth (10:00)

• On Connection vs. Spending:
  “What you want is the connection, not the spending of the money.” – Jill (12:20)

• On Taking Action:
  “Looking will make you feel like you're doing something, you're taking some action. And that always feels so much better.” – Jill (15:10)

• On Overall Assessment:
  “You are so on the right track. Save that thousand dollars a month and go look for a new job. You're going to feel better looking.” – Jill (18:37)

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Key Timestamps

• 03:42 – Elizabeth introduces her scenario: company financials, retirement match loss
• 05:00 – Personal/professional background and financial details
• 07:44 – Savings/investing accounts, household cash flow
• 10:00 – Emotional impact of losing the match and spending habits
• 12:20 – Strategies for saving while balancing lifestyle
• 13:37 – Considering a job switch, job market concerns
• 14:37 – Jill's advice: explore new job opportunities
• 16:22 – Husband’s aggressive saving, cash-flowing expenses
• 16:59 – Retirement account strategy: continue maxing out 403(b)
• 17:57 – Wills and insurance check-up
• 18:37 – Closing encouragement and next steps

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Actionable Takeaways

• Don’t let removal of a retirement match derail your financial plan—focus on what you can control, like contributions to your own accounts and exploring supplemental saving.
• Take career uncertainty as a cue to update your resume, activate your network, and quietly watch the job market—especially when your company hints at more cuts.
• Communication at home and with friends about your financial priorities can help maintain both your social life and your savings goals.
• Ensure you have adequate life insurance outside work-provided plans and keep estate planning documents current.

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Closing Message

Jill concludes with encouragement for anyone dealing with the loss of a valued benefit or a change at work: Stay proactive, focus on controllable actions, and don’t be afraid to explore new opportunities. As always, financial planning is about playing the long game with consistency and resilience.

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For more on financial planning, retirement, and navigating change, visit jillonmoney.com or click "Contact Us" to submit your own question!

Transcript

[A]

You know, when Mark and I first started this podcast, we had no idea how many hats we would be wearing. Host, Producer, Editor, Social Media Manager. It was exciting but also intimidating. We really wish that we had had a built in business partner from day one. A partner like Shopify. It's the commerce platform behind millions of businesses worldwide and powers 10% of all E commerce in the US you can build a beautiful online store with hundreds of ready to use templates that match your brand's style and their AI tools help write product descriptions, create headlines, even enhance your product photos. Plus you can run email and social campaigns and manage inventory, payments and analytics all in one place. Start your business today with the industry's best business partner, Shopify and start. Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at shopify.com jillonmoney go to shopify.com jillonmoney that's shopify.com jillonmoney Hey G. Just made a first time ever purchase on behalf of the pod. I was so psyched because Mark and I don't do a lot of promotional materials, but I was able to create a branded sweatshirt. Yep, a Jill on Money branded sweatshirt with Vistaprint. Now I'm not usually good at these things, but Vistaprint made it simple to bring this idea like, oh, wouldn't it be cool if Mark and I could create some sweatshirts that we'll try out and maybe the listeners would want to get them as well. They've got these great design tools, they have fast shipping, human support if you need a little guidance along the way. Because the sweatshirts were so easy to execute. Now I'm thinking about doing some other stuff. Maybe there's some baseball caps or I don't know, other fun stuff that you guys would want. You'll let us know. There's a reason that over a million people trust Vistaprint for their small business print needs. Vistaprint print your possible right now, new customers get 20% off with code [e-mail] welcome to the Jill on Money Show. It's Friday, March 13th and we are here trying to help you navigate your financial journey. That's your journey, no one else's. I know you're all a bunch of voyeurs just like me and Mark. You love hearing everybody's stories but if something's going on in your life and you would like another set of ears or eyes on the situation. Both Mark and I are certified financial planners. We don't do it for a living. We just use it for this show and gives us A little bit more of a holistic approach to how we try to solve your financial problems. So if something's going on, go to our website, jillonmoney.com in the upper right hand corner. Wherever you are navigating on the site, there is a contact us button. Click that button, write us a note, and if you'd like to join us live, check the box and Mark will arrange for everything else. Now, while you're on the website, there's all sorts of great content that lives there. We've got another podcast, it's called Money Watch, that drops on the weekends. We've got a radio show, there's a blog, there are videos, there are resources. And you can always buy my book, the Great Money Reset. I feel like we're getting a ton of reset questions these days. People just trying to figure out what is the next chapter of their lives. Whether it's sliding out of a long career, doing something different, whether it's mid career people who are just kind of sick of what they're doing and want to reset to do something different. Whatever it is. You can check that out. The book, the Great Money reset. We've got 10 bold steps to turn chaos of your life into opportunity. So what's better than that? Not much. Okay. Today we are joined by Elizabeth in Connecticut. Hello, Elizabeth. What can we do for you?

[B]

Hi, Jill and Mark. It's so good to be talking to you and thank you so much for having me on. I wanted to run a scenario by you especially because recently my place of work has had some financial challenges. And so one of the ways in which they're navigating this is by withdrawing the contributions they were making to our retirement plans.

[A]

So no match? No. Like, what a great way to engender loyalty. Okay, whatever. That's the stupidest thing that companies do. I. It's like there have to be better ways than that. But. Okay, let us, let us deal with what the reality is on the ground. So. So you're working there still and do you like your job?

[B]

I do, love it. And I thought, you know, I have to say, for the first couple of years in my field, I had, you know, a job for about almost two years. And then a really good opportunity came up and so I took that and during that time I went back to school and that opened up a new opportunity and ended me where I am currently.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And I envisioned that I would be here for a really long time, especially because the retirement match was so good.

[A]

All right, wait a second. So, Elizabeth, first of all, how old are you?

[B]

I am 36.

[A]

Okay. And are you single, married? Partnered.

[B]

I'm married.

[A]

Okay. How old is your spouse?

[B]

He is 39. He'll be 40 this year.

[A]

So how much do you earn right now? You, Elizabeth? Not. We'll do him in a second.

[B]

Okay, So I make 1:28.

[A]

Okay. Bonus or not bonus?

[B]

No bonus. That's just a flat. I tend to get a little bit extra here and there, depending on extra work. About five to seven thousand extra a year.

[A]

All right, so it's fair to say 130. That's that. Let's just keep it on the low end. So 130, 135. Okay. How much does your husband earn?

[B]

He makes about 205 with bonuses.

[A]

Great. What was the company match that they were providing that has been snatched away? 9%, 9%. Straight up, like match nine a dollar for $9%. And now they've gone to zero. Not even like, oh, we'll do 50 cents on the dollar up to 6% like every other company. No, nothing. Zero. Okay. All right, so now what is the contribution level that you're making into the plan?

[B]

So since I've been there. So this is a year three. I've been contributing the max amount. So last year was a 23. 5.

[A]

Okay, so you're maxing out. Is it. Are you putting money into a Roth or a traditional?

[B]

So this is a 403B. And I just this, this year switched 100% to Roth.

[A]

Great. Okay. And how much money is in the plan right now?

[B]

So I have 235,400.

[A]

Great. That's amazing. And so mostly, obviously that's mostly traditional right now.

[B]

Mostly traditional. Probably 7 of that is Roth.

[A]

Okay, now what about your husband? What is he contributing to his retirement plan?

[B]

He's also maxing out. He has a 401k that has 375,000 in it.

[A]

And traditional or Roth?

[B]

His is completely traditional.

[A]

Okay, got it. Do you guys have kids?

[B]

No kids.

[A]

Planning on kids or not?

[B]

Nope.

[A]

Okay. Just don't know. Don't even have to, like, explain. Just want to make sure. Got to sure we factor that in. Okay, so those are the two retirement plans, and you're still going to max out. That's okay. So what about other investments that you guys have right now?

[B]

So we both do have. I have a little bit on a Roth IRA because I just started contributing and then we weren't eligible anymore. So I have 1800 in a Roth IRA.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And my husband has 47,000 in a Roth.

[A]

Okay. Got it.

[B]

And then he has 148,000 in a brokerage account.

[A]

Do you guys keep your money separate or is this from, like, just like, you got married late or. Where are we?

[B]

We keep it separately. We've been married for a long time.

[A]

But it works for you? It works for me. Okay. 148 in his brokerage. Do you have a brokerage as well?

[B]

I do. I just started that. And that has 2,400 in it.

[A]

All right. Okay, great. HSAs or any other savings accounts?

[B]

Yes, I have 3,000 in an HSA.

[A]

What about just plain old checking savings? High yield savings.

[B]

So I believe we have 40,000 in savings.

[A]

Okay, great. What about your living situation? You guys own your home? We do. What's it worth? Guess. Just, you know.

[B]

So it's 327 what we have left on the mortgage, and it's worth 500 5,000.

[A]

And you like it? You want to stay there? Life is good.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay. What's the rate on the mortgage?

[B]

2.87.

[A]

Oh, my God, Mark. I'm sorry. He hears that, it must just be, like, taunting to him. All right, great. Any other assets? Anything else that we should be aware of before we start digging into your query about the match and what's going on at work and all that? Anything else that we should know about?

[B]

Nothing else.

[A]

Okay, so is the main question. What about, like, should I put. Should you be adding money? How's your, like, with your cash flow? Do you. Should you be doing something different about retirement? Like, what's your main source of anxiety right now?

[B]

Yeah, I think I'd like to know where I should be putting my money. All together. So before this happened, I. I am the spender in our marriage, so.

[A]

She's so honest. God bless.

[B]

I do love to buy nice clothes. And, you know, I go out for coffee with. I have many friends. Thankfully, I'm bless in that way. So I have coffee with friends or dinner with friends. So I'm the more social person. So I tend to spend more. I say to my husband because of that. Okay, but. So I decided this year, my resolution was to cut back a little bit, and I wanted to save a thousand a month into the brokerage account. So I started doing that.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Then this happened, and I felt so defeated.

[A]

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. Why feel. Don't feel defeated. First of all, you're saving. You're saving a lot of money because you're maxing out your retirement account. So let's just start with the good news. Okay? You're 36 years old, you make a nice living. The two of you together earn a lot of money. You don't have kids. You have to educate. You know, you are in this wonderful. You're going to be putting away, you know, two grand a month, 24,500 into retirement this year. You're doing a great job. When you say you feel defeated, like, just because they're not putting in a match doesn't mean you can't keep, like, now that even more, I would say, well, great. Now I really need to put away that thousand dollars a month into the brokerage account. Are you doing it automatically, like, coming out of your paycheck? Is that how you're doing it?

[B]

No. So when I get paid, I just transfer over to Fidelity 500. So I get paid twice a month, and I just transfer 500 every paycheck.

[A]

That's all good. How. Okay, presuming you put $1,000 a month away, right. And you're both putting money into your retirement accounts together. Right. And you've already have, you know, more than, let's see, five, six, seven, eight. I mean, you got 800 grand that's saved already, just more 850. Just doing what you're doing. And you're only in your 30s. Your husband's about to turn 40. You got a cheap mortgage, interest rate, you know, do you feel like the months that you have done that thousand dollars a month, do you still get to go out with your friends and have coffee?

[B]

I do. Not as much, but I still have my couple of days that I do go out.

[A]

You got to do that whole Covid thing. Let's take a walk.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

That's your. That. I'm not even. I'm not. I'm sort of kidding, but I'm not. But, like, that's. That's kind of the key. Like, what you want is the connection, not the spending of the money. Right. So. So it might be great to be able to say to your friend, like, I'm really trying to, like, get focused here and be like, I want to put my thousand dollars a month into my brokerage account. Just, I am focused on savings and I really want to see you, but can we just take a walk? I mean, this is also better in the spring. It's considering. Considering you live in Connecticut, but. Okay, let's just say you're going to do it anyway. Bundle up and do that. As far as losing the match, do you love the job without the match? That's my question.

[B]

I. I do. And I actually, I'M in a kind of supervisory role. And so that brings a lot of stress. And I. I had even thought, you know, the reason I started putting the extra money away is I thought, well, I'll step down and take a little bit of a pay cut in a couple of years and have someone else who, you know, walks into my role, which can be done pretty easily. And so that was my plan initially. And I thought, you know, it'll still be worth it because of the match then. And now I'm. I'm thinking, so this sounds. It's going to sound weird that this is my.

[A]

You cannot sound weird. There's. We have heard everything. We're like a doctor. It's like, whatever you show me, I've seen.

[B]

I. I feel like I. This job offers a lot of flexibility. That's great about it. But I like structure. And so I have considered making a move because I do think I would likely get compensated more if I moved into an industry where you have a Monday through Friday, these are the hours that you come to work kind of job. And so I've been considering that. And now that the match was gone, I thought, is this the right time to do that? Now my husband thinks that the way the economy is, maybe it's not the best time. But then I consider. I'm wondering if, you know, with the. With my job making these cuts, they've also said they will likely make further cuts. Is it best for me to just go now under my own terms versus.

[A]

Okay, can I step in here, Ms. Elizabeth? Okay, first of all, why not look and see what's out there? Doesn't hurt. And if you stumble on something and you like it, then maybe you're getting ahead of a potential risk that you're going to face. Right, Right. And so that. That doesn't see. But I would never quit without having a job. Not. No way. Absolutely not. Because your husband is right. It's a little bit of, like, that weird environment, which is there's not a ton of hiring, but if you think you can make a change and get someplace else or in a different sector that's a little bit. Maybe more protected. I don't love the idea that, like, oh, the company is running into financial problems, so they stop the match and there's going to be layoffs. So maybe, maybe this wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. I would absolutely be looking and seeing what's out there. Because no matter what, looking will make you feel like you're doing something, you're taking some action. And that always feels so much better. So much better. So I would. Look, I wouldn't leave just because the company stopped the match, but if it's like the company's on shaky ground, maybe I would. Maybe my role is actually at risk. Maybe this would be a good time. Yeah. Then why not look, why not? And keep your options open. I forgot to ask you one other question. You're both maxing out. You're the spender, he's the saver. Is he saving a bunch of money? Because I know that he's got like 150 grand in his brokerage account. That leads me to believe he must be a saver in there. Is he putting money in there?

[B]

Yeah. And we've had a few house projects the last couple of years and he's cash flowed those which they're like 37 to 45,000. So this year his plan is to put 50,000 into the brokerage account.

[A]

Oh, yes. I love his saving habit. You've chosen well, lady. You've chosen very well. Okay, so I think, okay, couple of things. Don't get rocked by the company match, really, you're doing a very good job. You're both saving. Stay on track with your thousand dollars a month and go look for a new job and see what's out there. Go, like, hunt around, work that network, get on LinkedIn, talk to people who you know, who you think you know. We'll talk off the air. I want to know what you do. But, like, there are plenty of. You know, as much as people will be like, there's no jobs out there, then you start, well, so and so got a new job. Why? Because they're looking. There's the right opportunity at the right time. So I wouldn't, again, please don't quit without a job. And if the worst were to happen, which is you lost your job before you had another one, you deal with it. But at least at this point, if you don't do anything and just wait around, that's going to mean delaying the process. At that point, you might as well get in front of it. Look around now, see what's going on, and maybe you find something great. Get back in touch with us. If you get a job offer, and I know she was asking if she should stop using the 403 altogether and instead just do a backdoor Roth. I wouldn't do that. You can get a lot more money, a lot more Roth money into that 403B than you can an IRA. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Like we want you to. Absolutely, absolutely, positively have that, that money getting shoveled in there as much and as quickly as possible. And that's what you're doing. That's great. Totally great. All right, we're going to release you, Elizabeth. Do you guys have wills?

[B]

We do.

[A]

Okay, good. Okay. And little life insurance just for each other. We do.

[B]

Through, through our jobs.

[A]

Well, I mean, you're healthy, right?

[B]

Yes, we are. We are.

[A]

Maybe just get, I mean, I don't know. How much money. How much do you have through your jobs?

[B]

Mine, it's, it's not a lot. It's like maybe 300,000.

[A]

I'm not, I'm not just each of, I might. Each of you just get like a. I don't know, like a half a million dollar term life insurance policy for like 15 years. Just get it, have it. That'll kind of bridge you till you have all the savings you need.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

All right. That sound good?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Elizabeth, we are releasing you. We are so delighted that you are. Have gotten in touch with us, but also just want to let you know you're on the right track. Save that thousand dollars a month and go look for a new job. You're going to feel better looking. I'm telling you right now, you're going to feel better if you're like Elizabeth and conditions at work have changed. Some benefit that you used to get is not in place anymore or you've switched jobs and you're used to getting a big match and now you don't have it and you're just wondering where to go next. Get in touch with us. Go to jillonmoney.com, click the contact us button. Write us a note. If you want to come on the air live, check the box. Mark will do everything else. And while you are around that website, check out all the content that lives there, including our subscription service, Jill on Money Live. Now, if you missed our Ed Slot webinar back in February, if you join Jill on Money Live, you will have access to the whole back catalog of our webinars, including the most recent one with Ed Slott. You will also be entitled to the next four webinars bonus audio and video content, 45 bucks for the next 12 months. If you just want to buy that ed slott webinar, 15 bucks. That's all. It'll be okay. You can subscribe to us on the Odyssey app or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. It is Friday. That means I thank people first and foremost is always Mark Tulercio, the best executive producer in the whole wide world. The king of the web. Our music is composed by Joel Goodman. We are distributed by the lovely people at Odyssey. We ask that you do something nice for someone else today. Change your work. Change your wealth. Change your life. Thanks for listening. We'll talk to you on Monday. Finding a skilled hire takes more than just reviewing a resume as AI raises the bar on how experience is presented. Hiring managers need better ways to evaluate skills and fit. That's where Robert Half can help their recruiters combine their expertise with award winning AI to review what's behind every application. Quickly learn how they can find you specialized talent in finance, accounting, technology and more at Robert Half. They know talent. Visit roberthal.com talent today it is not hard to destroy a college. Last season, the podcast Campus Files brought you stories of fraternity drug rings, stolen body parts, campus cults, and more. And now Campus Files is back for another season. There's a guy screaming into his phone. He's like, I just saw Charlie Kirk get assassinated right in front of me. Every week is a new episode. Episode and a new story. Feels so chaotic. It's almost like a university under siege. Listen to and follow Campus Files available now wherever you get your podcasts.