Newbie mistake, learn from me

[Murgency]

New to physician salary this year, and since I had started late in 2021 I had my 403b contributions set at 12% so I could hit the max contribution limit at the end of the year. One problem...

Employer match is 1:1 up to 5% and I didn't reassess my contribution rate until now this year after just receiving the 2021 year end productivity bonus (big ol check) at which point I have now nearly maxed out my 2022 contributions from leaving it at 12%.

I failed to lower my contribution rate to 5 or 6% and I lost out on at least 8k of employer match. So unless the market goes up by like 40% this year, the front loading won't have offset the missed employer match.

[CordMcNally]

Check to see if your employer does an end of year true-up.

[Murgency]

Check to see if your employer does an end of year true-up.

unfortunately they do not provide end of year true-up

[oocyte_]

New to physician salary this year, and since I had started late in 2021 I had my 403b contributions set at 12% so I could hit the max contribution limit at the end of the year. One problem...

Employer match is 1:1 up to 5% and I didn't reassess my contribution rate until now this year after just receiving the 2021 year end productivity bonus (big ol check) at which point I have now nearly maxed out my 2022 contributions from leaving it at 12%.

I failed to lower my contribution rate to 5 or 6% and I lost out on at least 8k of employer match. So unless the market goes up by like 40% this year, the front loading won't have offset the missed employer match.

sorry, i ma have had a long day but waht is the issue here? I'm in the same boat and started later in 2021 and alrady maxed out my 401k,

[CordMcNally]

sorry, i ma have had a long day but waht is the issue here? I'm in the same boat and started later in 2021 and alrady maxed out my 401k,

The issue is that some employers will match based on each paycheck contribution so if you heavily frontload your contributions then you won't get their full match throughout the year. Some employers have a true-up at the end of the year to make up for it and some don't.

[Larry Ragman]

It would be worth a shot to ask your plan administrator if some of the contributions can be reversed. They will likely tell you no, but push them there is a mechanism to reverse excess contributions so they may be able to do it.

[Fugue]

So trying to understand the math here. Most employers offer a certain percentage match, let’s say 3% match. Wouldn’t that 3% match be the same whether you contributed the $20,500 over 12 months or all at once?

[Anne]

So trying to understand the math here. Most employers offer a certain percentage match, let’s say 3% match. Wouldn’t that 3% match be the same whether you contributed the $20,500 over 12 months or all at once?

See what cord wrote above. Depends on the employer. Some only match the stated percent per paycheck, some offer a true-up if you front load.

[ObgynMD]

Ask your employer for a true-up.

[CordMcNally]

So trying to understand the math here. Most employers offer a certain percentage match, let’s say 3% match. Wouldn’t that 3% match be the same whether you contributed the $20,500 over 12 months or all at once?

The 401k True Up: Are you losing thousands in employer 401k matching? - CFB | HFG (cfbhfg.com)