The 401(k) Turns 40

By Stacey Vanek Smith

Published November 9, 2018 at 3:34 PM MST

40 years ago, the 401(k) was plucked from deep within the tax code and brought into the world. Today, it's the most common retirement plan in the country with millions of people contributing trillions of dollars. But it's not without its critics. Today on the show, The Indicator and Planet Money come together to celebrate the mighty 401(k).

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Stacey Vanek Smith

Stacey Vanek Smith is the co-host of NPR's The Indicator from Planet Money. She's also a correspondent for Planet Money, where she covers business and economics. In this role, Smith has followed economic stories down the muddy back roads of Oklahoma to buy 100 barrels of oil; she's traveled to Pune, India, to track down the man who pitched the country's dramatic currency devaluation to the prime minister; and she's spoken with a North Korean woman who made a small fortune smuggling artificial sweetener in from China.

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