In the plan? Or as an employee?
Retirement investing...
- Thread starter Ws6
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I don't want our company's stock nor is it offered, but it sounds like you had a good employer. I doubt it get a match every paycheck, but I'll ask our HR to research that.
I've been here for almost a decade.
Depends on your perspective. At least 75% of Americans will not retire with 500,000. Many will have next to nothing. So any "free" income from investments is a blessing. You won't live a great retirement but you can get by.
Okay, so they only match your contributions 1x per year, and only if you were contributing the year prior, so it will be about 14 months until my first employer match. I told you all this was trash and why I didn't want to play their corrupt little games. I could have that money making me money from the jump if I weren't involve with that. That said, it's still a 50% "gain" so meh. It's just trash like I figured it would be. Glad I have real retirement accounts aside from work.
I wouldn't say it's a "corrupt little game" as long as they never hid that information or lied about their policies. Not the greatest circumstances for sure, but you can't really fault your company on that for something that you could have looked into 10 years ago when you began employment. I make a point to thoroughly educate myself on all policies including retirement, leave, medical, and everything in-between to ensure I'm making the most of what is offered and not leaving anything on the table. I doesn't mean I participate in all the benefits, but my participation is predicated upon knowing what they are.
The bummer is you didn’t begin 10 years ago
I've been there almost a decade, so I'm probably 10% Vested by now, ROFL!
All of them are trash. I certainly wouldn't have swayed my decision on which trash company to waste part of my life working for based on a few thousand bucks a year, it's just annoying to keep learning how trash they are. No, they didn't lie or conceal this aspect.
That's fair, but I was busy doing better things 10 years ago. Like buying a house and land at pre-COVID prices/rates.
The rules your employer has, although less than ideal, are not atypical. My wife's plan at her last employer was similar. No match for the first 3 or 6 months of employment (may have been of contributing) and vesting once a year at/after the year end, for a 50% match on up to 6%. Must be employed at the date of matching contribution or you did not get the match. (Off topic but bonuses were therefore off cycle so you were always 6 months from the next milestone, bonus, then 6 month later company match or retirement contribution, then six months later bonus).
The solution, read the rules the company sets up, stay the course, and plan accordingly. The 401k match rules are less advantageous than others but in reality, you are still getting a significant match albeit watered down by the lag time. The same concept as dollar cost averaging comes into play, you start now and play our the calendar allowing compounding over time. The benefit from the match will still be significant, and know that your employer is not "on an island" with their policy, as I think I mentioned earlier in the thread, they are choosing to burden the employees with certain things to defer their cost (expense ratios, longer calendar for the company match, etc.).
In following this thread, I still haven't read anything that should make your 401K a non-starter. Just my $.02.
How do you get bonus 401k matches? What even is that?
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
To be honest, you are one of the most ridiculous people sometimes. Sometimes you’re great though.
This is the standard. Calling the standard trash is ridiculous when it works well for so many of us. How would your employer be able to continuously match your 401k if it’s based on how much you put in annually?
I work for a wonderful large company and everything you’ve described so far this thread is the norm, and a non-issue.
I figure as soon as they deduct it from my paycheck, they match what they deduct (50% up to 3% capped at 3500...in my case...)and add it in to form the total contribution?
You know. MATCHING. I guess I'm just lucky they don't pay me only 1x per year. They probably know I'd see that lump and instaquite.
I was talking an actual bonus, not a bonus 401k match. In other words (specific to the example I was giving):
January: 401k match deposited to account
July: bonus (if one was getting a bonus) gets paid
^Creates an incentive for the employee to be around, ie harder to quit right after the bonus is paid because 6 months later they get their company match). More realistically, a little bit of savings for the company when an employee up and leaves.
My point was, yes, employers can be tactful with how they organize the compensation cycle to make it more difficult to consider walking away and put a couple of $s back in the employers pocket. But if you are planning on still working there in 1 year, 2 years, etc. you should get on and stick on the path that gets you matching dollars.
How does one get a "bonus"? I never understood that. Companies just give you money for as a tax loss method or what?
There are all kinds of bonuses. Silicon Valley has been legendary for its bonuses to keep key employees and to incentivise. These include:
- A check for whatever amount.
- Stock options and grants. Yeah baby! This is where the $$ is.
- A bike or other gift. Even cars... One top salesman got a MBZ...
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
Yep, I proudly only missed one year in the last 20 - and that had more to do with a new boss (who did right the next year) …
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