Benefits February 23, 2009

Coca-Cola Bottling Caps Match

February 23, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated said it will suspend matching contributions to its employee 401(K) plan starting April 1, according to a regulatory filing on Friday.
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Prior to the suspension, the company provided a dollar-for-dollar match of up to 5% of an employee’s annual eligible pay, according to Reuters.

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Other Decisions

The firm is the latest of several to suspend their 2009 matching contributions, including Sears (see Sears Suspends 401(k) Match in Face of Declining Sales ), the Denver Post ( Denver Post Latest to Suspend 401(k) Match ), Unisys ( Unisys Cuts 401(k) Match, Slices 1,300 Jobs ), Starbucks (see Starbucks to Exercise Discretion in 401(k) Matching ), Motorola (see Motorola Freezes DB Plan; Suspends 401(k) Match ), Eddie Bauer , 7-Eleven , and FedEx (see FedEx Suspends Match, Cuts Pay ).

More recently, the trend has shown up in the newspaper industry (see Indiana Newspaper Axes 401(k) Match , Louisiana’s The Advocate Announces Match Suspension , Another Media Company Takes 401(k) Match Suspension Route ) and tourism/resports (see Wynn Resorts Calls Off 401(k) Match , Mohegan Sun Casino Stops Match, Cuts Pay , More Companies Decide to Go “Matchless” ).

However most plan sponsors responding to a recent PLANSPONSOR survey said they had no plans to change their 401(k) match program (See SURVEY SAYS: What Are Your Plans for Your Match? ) – a sentiment echoed in a recent employer survey by Mercer (see 83% of Employers Surveyed do not Expect Employer Contribution Changes ). And Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. decided reinstated its match after a suspension (see Dollar Says Reinstating Match is the “Right Thing to Do” ), as did Louisville, Kentucky-based Republic Bank (see KY Bank Ups its 401(k) Match ). .

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