However, studies indicate that debt-burdened pre-retirees are not influenced by the incentives offered by employers nor are they motivated to adequately save for their retirement. The incentives may include employer matching of employee contributions and provision that allow employees over the age of 50 to make catch-up contributions to their retirement savings plan. A common threshold applied to identify a debt-burdened pre-retiree is when the household debt service burden, measured as the ratio of consumer debt payments to income, exceeds 40 percent of income (Copeland, 2013; Adkisson & McFerrin, 2005). Significant levels of non-mortgage consumer debt are preventing plan participants from contributing to their retirement plan or preventing participants from contributing as much as they would like to contribute towards their retirement savings (Gunsauley,
However, studies indicate that debt-burdened pre-retirees are not influenced by the incentives offered by employers nor are they motivated to adequately save for their retirement. The incentives may include employer matching of employee contributions and provision that allow employees over the age of 50 to make catch-up contributions to their retirement savings plan. A common threshold applied to identify a debt-burdened pre-retiree is when the household debt service burden, measured as the ratio of consumer debt payments to income, exceeds 40 percent of income (Copeland, 2013; Adkisson & McFerrin, 2005). Significant levels of non-mortgage consumer debt are preventing plan participants from contributing to their retirement plan or preventing participants from contributing as much as they would like to contribute towards their retirement savings (Gunsauley,