401(k) Match Is Worth Less Than Cash

Many Americans apparently value their 401(k) matching funds more than cash money. A new survey by Fidelity found that 87 percent of 401(k) participants would take a job only if it offered a match, and the hypothetical offer of a bigger salary didn’t entice them to go matchless. Another 43 percent in the survey went so far as to accept a smaller base salary in exchange for a bigger match. That’s surprising because, when you account for risk, a match is worth less than its cash value.