CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Bank of America is putting its workers’ pensions on hold permanently, but it’s also putting more money into another type of retirement plan.
On July 1st, the bank will freeze the pension plans of eligible employees.
“They will keep the pension benefits they’ve earned to date," said Scott Silvestri, a bank spokesman.
“They will keep the pension benefits they’ve earned to date," said Scott Silvestri, a bank spokesman.
But those workers will no longer accumulate new benefits to the pension plan.
“It’s in line with what our competitors have done, and it’s in line with what many other public companies have done,” added Silvestri.
Instead of pension plans, the company is moving to a single 401(k) retirement plan for most of its employees. The company currently matches the contributions of eligible workers into that 401(k) plan (up to 5 percent of their salary), but starting July 1, it’ll also start putting money into its workers’ 401(k) plans, regardless of whether they contribute.
The amount would be the same as two to three percent of a worker’s salary. For example, if an eligible worker made $100,000 a year, Bank of America would contribute $2,000-$3,000 into his or her 401(k).
Bank of America has its headquarters in Charlotte. The company has roughly 285,000 employees -- between 10,000 and 16,000 of them are in the Charlotte area, according to the Charlotte Chamber.
