POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Non-investing personal finance issues including insurance, credit, real estate, taxes, employment and legal issues such as trusts and wills.

Do/did you get an employer match? How much?

no match at all
50
16%
up to 03% of pay
57
19%
over 03 to 05% of pay
85
28%
over 05% to 7% of pay
52
17%
over 07 to 09% of pay
26
8%
more
36
12%
 
Total votes: 306

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ruralavalon
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POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by ruralavalon »

Do you get an employer match in your401k/403b etc.? If retired answer as to your last employer's plan. If there is/was a match, what is/was the maximum as a percentage of your annual earnings?

I never had an employer match/contribution/profit sharing, and I was curious about the percent who receive employer help of any kind and if so how much, so:
1) if you receive(d) an employer contribution not dependent on your employee contribution, do count that; and
2) if you receive(d) profit sharing, do count that.
Last edited by ruralavalon on Fri Jun 06, 2014 3:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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traveler90
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by traveler90 »

5% match
Quickfoot
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by Quickfoot »

Previous employer it was a 5% contribution by my employer and an additional 3% matching. My current employer is 50% up to 6% so they'll contribute 3% on a 4 year vesting schedule (25% per year).
letsgobobby
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by letsgobobby »

it's not all strictly a match, some is automatic, some is a match, some is a contribution to a non-qualified plan, but at the end of the day it's around 9%, I voted 7-9%.
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ResearchMed
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by ResearchMed »

What should we select for "no match, just FREE MONEY"? :happy

We get the max contribution permitted (with the catch-up for older employees) whether or not we contribute.

So it is an employer contribution, but not a real "match" of our contributions.

No complaints, mind you...!

RM
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englishgirl
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by englishgirl »

No match, but profit sharing. Which is optional, and only paid at the end of the year so if you leave before it is paid out, you get nothing. But I answered based on the typical percentage of the profit sharing.
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by HornedToad »

5% match and 5% automatic. So I voted for More since it's effectively 10%
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Ice-9
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by Ice-9 »

Don't know if this counts for the purpose of this thread, but I'm a local government employee with a mandatory 401(a) plan. This plan has the County contributing 8% of my salary and me contributing a mandatory 4%. If employees want to contribute more than that to a tax-deferred workplace account, they can sign up for an optional 457 plan and contribute up to $17,500 additional.
853211
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by 853211 »

1% match with vesting 25% year 2, 50% year 3 and 25% year 4 ?


Profit sharing goes the same way, have to be employed on Dec 1st to qualify for the profit sharing.
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SpringMan
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by SpringMan »

I answered no match based on my last employer. At a previous employer I did get a small match. Survey does not consider the case of multiple employers over a long career.
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SicEm
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by SicEm »

Not a match, but a fixed contribution from my employer regardless of my own contribution. I voted: More than 9%.
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ruralavalon
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by ruralavalon »

ResearchMed, Englishgirl, HornedToad, SicEm and others:

I never had an employer match/contribution/profit sharing, and I was curious about the percent who receive employer help of any kind and if so how much, so:
1) if you receive(d) an employer contribution not dependent on your employee contribution, do count that; and
2) if you receive(d) profit sharing, do count that.
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Meg77
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by Meg77 »

My employer matches 50% of our contribution, up to 15% of our salary. So top match is technically 7.5% - if you contribute 15% of your salary yourself.
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leonidas
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by leonidas »

We get 1% for showing up and 100% match upto 6%. Also have a defined benefit pension plan that is pretty good.
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ResearchMed
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by ResearchMed »

ruralavalon wrote:ResearchMed, Englishgirl, HornedToad, SicEm and others:

I never had an employer match/contribution/profit sharing, and I was curious about the percent who receive employer help of any kind and if so how much, so:
1) if you receive(d) an employer contribution not dependent on your employee contribution, do count that; and
2) if you receive(d) profit sharing, do count that.
Thanks.

It's not "percent" dependent, however.

It's the full amount allowed, with the catch-up contribution (for those "of a certain age"...).
It's the (I think currently) something like $17.5k + $5.5k, with the employee able to contribute the same amount if she/he wishes, but the employer contribution remains regardless.
It's not only "free", but generous.
We have a great employer, no question...

So the actual percentage would be different for each person, and it *was* different for the two of us in the past, but now I'm retired from that employer, and running a small business of ours, plus doing some work with DH (unpaid at this time, except for the $ he receives, which is more than enough).

RM
MaddMaxx
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by MaddMaxx »

Am in Oil\Gas Industry, all employees get 100% match up to 15% of pay after 90 days employment.
Last edited by MaddMaxx on Fri Jun 06, 2014 4:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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midareff
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by midareff »

No match at all BUT, all non-retired participants now have to contribute 3% of pay to the system. State of Florida Retirement System.
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BrandonBogle
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by BrandonBogle »

My employer is a 100% match of 6% + an annual discretionary. The past four years, it was 2%, 1%, 2%, 2%. So I voted 7-9%.

NOTE: This discretionary is given even if you contribute $0 all year long. All part time and full time employees get it. However, it is a percentage of "base pay" + overtime, so people in 100% commission jobs still get nada.
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

Currently 5 percent used to be 6 percent but got cut in the name of cost savings 2 years ago.
Other past employers were 0, 0, 4 and 3 percent.
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by LadyGeek »

This thread is now in the Personal Finance (Not Investing) forum (employer retirement plan contributions).
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bhsince87
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by bhsince87 »

100% match up to 6% of pay. Plus an extra 6% flat profit sharing contribution if you contribute 1%

So contribute 1%, you get 1% + 6%. Contribute 6%, get 6%+6%. Contribute 15%, you get 6%+6%.

I like it!
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LateStarter1975
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by LateStarter1975 »

Started work with my current employer in 2010. Employer matched 50% up to 3% of salary for 2012 and stopped since 2013 b/c of poor finances. But I'm still contributing anyway to the 401k plan despite no index funds and an average of 1.01% ER of the funds b/c I started too late in retirement planning.
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GerryL
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by GerryL »

No match, but every employee gets an annual chunk of money (% of salary) into a profit-sharing account with limited investment options. No need to even invest in a 401k. From what I understand, however, employees hired in the past few years no longer have a "profit-sharing account." The funds are, I think, invested in a 401k for them, again, whether or not they contribute to the 401k.

The profit-sharing account is used to calculate whether the employee gets a guaranteed minimum pension when they retire. Most people don't, but the effect of 2008-2009 on the profit-sharing account has apparently pushed the calculation in the direction of at least a nominal pension. (I'll be getting a bit above $400/mo.) The end of the stand-alone profit-sharing account was also the end of the minimum pension for those newer employees.
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by LadyGeek »

FYI - I moved posts from 401K employer match. Do you have that? into here.

Normally, I would merge the threads, but doing so would kill the poll. As a compromise, I only moved posts that would not affect the poll (later than the OP's post time).


After receiving a PM, I moved the posts back. They are 2 different topics, sorry about that.
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sommerfeld
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by sommerfeld »

at my employer, the 401(k) employer match is based only on the dollar amount contributed by the employee. Regardless of your base salary, you get 1:1 until you contribute $3000/year; you get a flat $3000 if you contribute between $3000 and $6000, and you get 50% between $6000 and $17500/year; if you contribute the max, you get a match of $8750.
Random Poster
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by Random Poster »

8% match for 401k contributions. 6% of last year's compensation (salary+bonus+overtime for those who get paid hourly) is put into a separate retirement account in the first quarter of each year.
investingdad
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by investingdad »

8% here.
ddoubleu
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by ddoubleu »

3% match, but I don't get it until December 31st of each year.
Redriff
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by Redriff »

Match 100% up to 6% per paycheck. There is an additional 6% annual company contribution too.
musbane
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by musbane »

6% match in 401k
Additional 9% in lieu of pension .

I voted 6%, but it felt like 15% :sharebeer
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by Traveler »

ResearchMed wrote:What should we select for "no match, just FREE MONEY"? :happy

We get the max contribution permitted (with the catch-up for older employees) whether or not we contribute.

So it is an employer contribution, but not a real "match" of our contributions.

No complaints, mind you...!

RM
Did I understand this correctly? Your employer puts in $17,500 (plus catch-up if you're older) and you don't have to put in anything? Wow! What industry are you in?
Traveler
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by Traveler »

For those of us hired more recently who don't get a defined benefit pension, we get 6% (of base + bonus) put into a separate retirement account that we don't have control over but that is portable should we change employers. For the 401K we get a 3.5% match. I selected 3-5% because that is the 401K portion, but in reality my employer is setting aside 9.5%.
kmmm
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by kmmm »

Full match up to 6%, which vests 25% after one year, 50% after two years, and 100% after three years. They also do a discretionary match which is usually between 3-5% annually. This is much more generous than my previous employer who capped out at 2% total.
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tnbison
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by tnbison »

6% match and 15% ESOP based on how well we did for the year. I've had it every year since I started 6 years ago.
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JoMoney
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by JoMoney »

I answered only with the employer match to 401(k), company used to offer profit sharing (which could be allocated to paycheck/taxable or to the tax deferred retirement account - but the company has recently stopped the profit sharing program). The company has a periodic "total benefit/compensation summary" report in which they list all the employee compensation benefits - I thought it was interesting to note that the company counts their 6.2% contribution to Social Security as part of the employees compensation benefits.
If one looks at Social Security as a retirement account benefit, it could skew what is considered a "match" (although I don't think most people consider their employers matching of the Social Security "tax" as a benefit... )
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curmudgeon
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by curmudgeon »

3% match in my current company. It's fairly poor relative to my previous jobs in the tech industry which tended to have at least 5% match. On the other hand, the non-salary compensation (options and RSUs) has done pretty well, so I don't scream too much.
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by OutInThirteen »

For the last few years of my next-to-last job - 16.5% match, much of which was due to the fact that I had >20 years of service at the time, and they had just frozen my pension. When I left and started my last job, the salary increase was high enough to more than make up the difference in match (there I got 1% whether or not I contributed plus a 4% match).
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by Ron »

Same employer for 28+ years, but under four different "owners" during that time.

In the beginning of the 401(k) plan (1982), they matched dollar for dollar up to 8%. This was at the same time they discontinued the defined benefit (pension) plan.

Over the years, the program was degraded to the point of matching $.50 for each dollar, up to 4% of employee contributions when I retired in 2007.

With each owner, the focus increasingly changed from the employee to the stockholder. If you didn't like it, there were two options (the front door or the back door :oops: )...

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amitb00
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by amitb00 »

3% for me and 1% for wife.
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Sheepdog
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by Sheepdog »

No match, but the company did give a profit sharing amount to the employee's 401k whether the employee contributed to it or not.
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Go Blue 99
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by Go Blue 99 »

I work at a megacorp and get 6% guaranteed match. There is also a bonus match based on company performance. Last year we received a total 9% match.

My wife's mid-sized company has a flat maximum match of $1,150.
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by chaz »

No match at all. :twisted:
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stoptothink
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by stoptothink »

No match and terrible fund selection with high fees. We've also had a problem with contributions taking up to four months to post. I had a large lump contribution on March 22nd from a bonus, still hasn't posted. My company offers pretty good benefits, with an especially good health plan, but our 403b is almost unbelievably bad.
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by scrabbler1 »

I am an early retiree but when I was working my employer matched 75% of our contributions up to 6% of our salary (they kicked in 4.5%).

My employer also started an ESOP in the late 1990s which gave us additional money in the form of company stock, stock whose value exploded in its first 11 years (up 3,000%, yes that is three-THOUSAND). As percent of my salary, it started around 5.5% but grew to as high as 13% a few years before dropping back down into single digits. Then, in 2007, my last year of being eligible for receiving more ESOP shares, they began using company stock for the 401k matching so the remaining ESOP shares to be allocated at the end of the year dropped dramatically. I received about 1% of my pay in new shares in 2007.
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Tim_in_GA
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by Tim_in_GA »

100% up to 4.25% of salary. Not sure why they came up with a fractional number like that.
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by The Wizard »

Back when I was still employed, I had a mandatory 5% of salary contribution to my 403(b) plan from day one of employment. My employer "matched" that with 10% of salary, later increased to 11.5% of salary.
In addition, I could make "supplemental" contributions of up to $22K to $23K my last few working years, which I did. These supplemental contribs were not "matched"...
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jfn111
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by jfn111 »

During my years at Evil Corp we would get a yearly profit sharing contribution put into our 401K's. For most of my career this averaged 15%. A number of years before I retired they eliminated the pension for new employees. The company started a matching program, for the non vested employees, to replace the pension.
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beyou
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by beyou »

Lately 50% match ( so 5% of my 10% contribution).

Before 2008-2009, used to get another 5% in profit sharing deposited.
So was 10% of salary (100% match of my 10% contribution)
for a long while.
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ruralavalon
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by ruralavalon »

stoptothink wrote:No match and terrible fund selection with high fees. We've also had a problem with contributions taking up to four months to post. I had a large lump contribution on March 22nd from a bonus, still hasn't posted. My company offers pretty good benefits, with an especially good health plan, but our 403b is almost unbelievably bad.
Ugh, no redeeming feature whatsoever :(.
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Re: POLL: Do/did you get a match? How much?

Post by Tamahome »

I am in the Over 3 to 5% category, but it seems from posts that most in this category are at 5%. I am in a safe-harbor plan that matches dollar for dollar up to 4%. The company has great funds that break down into essentially: DFA for value funds, Vanguard for index funds, and American Funds for growth funds. While the company only matches 4%, the company pays all fees except the expense ratios on the funds. The company also pays a fee-based adviser to go over questions with employees each year. While the matching is only 4%, the fact that all of the funds are low-fee and the company pays the provider to avoid extra costs has great value.
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