Student loans cost workers $10 billion a year in missed 401(k) matches

$10 billion a year in employer 401(k) retirement matches goes unclaimed because student-loan bills leave workers saving too little to earn the full match, per EBRI research reported Sept. 15, 2026. A match is extra pay for saving; missed one year, it's gone for good. Early gaps then snowball over decades as returns earn their own returns.