401(k) employer matching

January 18, 2007 6:06 AM

When must an employer deposit their matching funds in a 401(k) account? I understand that employee contributions must be deposited "as soon as possible", but what about the employer's matching?
posted by blue_wardrobe to Work & Money (7 answers total)

Best answer: The rules are supposed to spelled out in the plan's documents - they are not required to match until year end. Many employers match per pay period or monthly, but it is not necessary (per the IRS website).
posted by blackkar at 7:06 AM on January 18, 2007

And, keep in mind your employer's plan may provide for conditional matching, rather than guaranteed matching. The condition is usually that the company achieves certain profitability targets.
posted by beagle at 9:19 AM on January 18, 2007

My employer keeps tabs on what they owe you but you don't get the money in your 401K for three years. It seems that an employee is not "fully vested" for three years.
posted by catseatcheese at 10:32 AM on January 18, 2007

Response by poster: catseatcheese: we have a similar vesting schedule, but the money should still be deposited as an investment. I just wasn't sure about when. I think blackkar has it.
posted by blue_wardrobe at 11:20 AM on January 18, 2007

At my last job we'd get our matching every quarter, so it looks like it can be different everywhere (3 years?!).
posted by rhizome at 11:28 AM on January 18, 2007

Three years vesting makes sense, not paying in for 3 years is absurd. Our 403b just has several sub accounts - 1 for the basic 5% contribution, 1 for anything above the 5% contribution, 1 for my employers match for the 1st 5%, and 1 if you started saving before it was pre-tax (so they know how much to declare as taxable when you take it out). These all roll up into one nice number that is listed on our quarterly statements and the website. Hopefully, catseatcheese, your employer has a list of subaccounts that roll up into their "account" and they can split them off and grant them to you after 3 years. That is a lot of growth you could be missing out on.
posted by blackkar at 1:45 PM on January 18, 2007

blackkar, I get up to 6% matching...I put 6% into some funds from a big investment company. I get to choose the funds in which I put my 6%. The company matches their 6% in company stock (it's not publicly owned). I get a letter once a year telling me what I will be getting from the company once I am fully vested.
posted by catseatcheese at 5:06 AM on January 20, 2007