by Cynthia Murray, Otherwords
I’ll be turning 67 soon. I’d love to be able to retire on my birthday. I’d celebrate by spending the afternoon at the mall with my daughter and then start planning little trips to visit relatives.
But even after 22 years of working for Walmart, our nation’s largest employer, I can’t afford to retire any time soon.
Walmart does offer a 401(k) with matching funds. But with a high-deductible health plan and at my wage of just $16.83 an hour, I haven’t been able to save much at all for what should be my “golden years.”
Lots of my fellow Walmart associates are in the same boat. I know this from talking to my co-workers — and because companies have to report how many employees have zero balances in their 401(k) plans. At Walmart, 46 percent have not one dime in their accounts.
The situation for my top boss, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, could not be more different. Would you believe he has more than $169 million in his company retirement account?
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