Now more than ever, those vying for a Nobel Prize aren't in it for the money.

Thanks to a sluggish economy and unstable financial markets, the Nobel Foundation is being forced to tighten its belt a bit, announcing Monday it would pare down cash prizes awarded to Nobel Prize winners.

The foundation, which awards the prestigious Nobel Prize in numerous academic fields and for humanitarian work, will slash prize winnings by 20 percent to around $1.1 million, the Associated Press reported, the first time the organization has done so since 1949.

Prize winnings, awarded in Swedish Kronor, were the equivalent of about $1.4 million last year.

The organization cited concerns about maintaining adequate funds in the long term for the pullback in prize winnings, saying returns on the foundation's investments had fallen short of operating expenses in recent years. The foundation's investments, which totaled about $419 million as of the end of last year, were down about 8 percent year-over-year, according to an analysis by Catherine Rampell of the New York Times.

According to Rampell, a committee has been established to identify better investment opportunities. The Foundation also said it is re-evaluating administrative costs, as well as the expense of related Nobel festivities, which take place each year in Stockholm and Oslo.