TTEC Pauses 401(k) Match for 16,000 U.S. Employees for Nine Months

-based employees beginning in late April. The company said the pause will last nine months. TTEC chief people officer Laura Butler stated in an April 30 memo that the firm hopes to resume its 3% match if business performance supports it. The company is headquartered in Austin.

More than three-quarters of employers offered a Roth 401(k) or similar defined contribution plan as of 2025, according to SHRM. Of those offering a defined contribution plan, 74% also offered a match. Retirement benefits rank among the largest items on company benefit budgets after healthcare.

Employers have paused matches during the 2001 and 2008 recessions and the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at the Employee Benefits Research Institute, said employers sometimes cut benefits rather than lay off workers. He noted that a 5% match could make a difference in avoiding job cuts. Vin Smith, a partner at Fiducient Advisors, said companies may first change vesting schedules or contribution frequency to limit effects on employee morale.

Many employers resume matches, though often at lower levels than before. Copeland added that HR teams should encourage workers to keep contributing to their accounts even without an employer match. He said sustained employee contributions help workers avoid falling behind when matches return.