The prolonged economic crisis led many employees to tap into their retirement savings to deal with financial problems, but African-Americans and Hispanics eroded their retirement savings at an alarming rate

African-American employees took hardship withdrawals more than any other ethnic group, with 8.8% doing so. That compared to 3.2% of Hispanics, 1.7% of whites and 1.2% of Asians. Half of African-American workers and 40% of Hispanic employees carried a loan balance at the end of 2010, compared to 22% of Asians and 26% of whites. Also, 63% of blacks and 57% of Hispanics who left their employer in 2010 cashed out their balances, compared to 39% of white employees and 34% of Asian workers.