{"id":3541,"date":"2025-04-02T09:07:31","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T14:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/?p=3541"},"modified":"2025-06-26T09:25:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T14:25:38","slug":"what-to-know-about-401ks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Know About 401(k)s"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

One of the common retirement plans offered by employers is a 401(k) plan. These plans make saving for retirement convenient. But make sure you understand the basics so you can capitalize on plan options and determine how your 401(k) fits into your overall retirement strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ELIGIBILITY RULES<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some employers allow new hires to enroll in the company 401(k) plan on day one, and some even offer automatic enrollment. But employers can have waiting periods of a few months to a year before you\u2019re eligible to participate. To get the most from the plan, however, sign up as soon as you\u2019re allowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IT\u2019S A MATCH<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many companies offer a matching contribution to employees who participate in the company plan. While amounts vary, matching contributions are usually a fixed percentage on a predetermined portion of an employee\u2019s annual salary. For example, an employer may contribute fifty cents for every dollar you contribute, up to 10% of your salary. So if you earn $60,000 per year, you could receive a $3,000 annual contribution from your employer, provided you contribute $6,000 each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KNOW YOUR LIMITS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The IRS places limits on the amount you can contribute to qualified retirement plans each year. For 2025, the limit is $23,500, but if you\u2019re 50-59 or 64 and older you can contribute catch-up contributions of an additional $7,500. New this year: Catch-up contributions for employees 60-63 are capped at $11,250. Any 401(k) plan can set its own contribution limits, which may be less than the IRS limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VESTING<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The money you contribute to a 401(k) is yours to keep from day one. But the contributions from your employer may come with a contingency, also known as a vesting schedule. That means you may need to work for the company for a year or more before you gain 100% ownership of the company\u2019s contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TAKE OUT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Although you may not plan on tapping your 401(k) account before retirement, sometimes life\u2019s events require you to do so. Some plans will let you take a loan that you repay with interest over time. Or you may be able to take a hardship withdrawal that doesn\u2019t require repayment. But you\u2019ll have to pay income tax on the amount withdrawn and if you are under age 59 1\/2 there is an additional 10% federal tax penalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider this option as your last resort, because that money will no longer be there to grow for retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

401(k) plans that offer automatic enrollment have experienced significantly increased participation rates \u201494% compared to 67%.<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the common retirement plans offered by employers is a 401(k) plan. These plans make saving for retirement convenient. But make sure you understand the basics so you can capitalize on plan options and determine how your 401(k) fits into your overall retirement strategy. ELIGIBILITY RULES Some employers allow new hires to enroll in … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “What to Know About 401(k)s”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[317,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-401k","category-newletters"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat to Know About 401(k)s - Conner Ash<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What to Know About 401(k)s - Conner Ash\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the common retirement plans offered by employers is a 401(k) plan. These plans make saving for retirement convenient. But make sure you understand the basics so you can capitalize on plan options and determine how your 401(k) fits into your overall retirement strategy. ELIGIBILITY RULES Some employers allow new hires to enroll in … Continue reading "What to Know About 401(k)s"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Conner Ash\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-02T14:07:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-26T14:25:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/What_To_Know_About_401ks-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1333\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Suzanne Watson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Suzanne Watson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/what-to-know-about-401ks\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/what-to-know-about-401ks\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Suzanne Watson\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2981787dac46b1dabe881c3f3d1cb3f0\"},\"headline\":\"What to Know About 401(k)s\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-02T14:07:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-26T14:25:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/what-to-know-about-401ks\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":419,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/what-to-know-about-401ks\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/What_To_Know_About_401ks-1-768x1024.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"401(k)\",\"Newsletters\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/what-to-know-about-401ks\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/what-to-know-about-401ks\\\/\",\"name\":\"What to Know About 401(k)s - Conner Ash\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/what-to-know-about-401ks\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/what-to-know-about-401ks\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/What_To_Know_About_401ks-1-768x1024.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-02T14:07:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-26T14:25:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2981787dac46b1dabe881c3f3d1cb3f0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/what-to-know-about-401ks\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/what-to-know-about-401ks\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/what-to-know-about-401ks\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/What_To_Know_About_401ks-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/What_To_Know_About_401ks-1.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1333,\"caption\":\"Flatlay of glasses, calculator pen and noted book written 401 (k) Plan. Also had small pink paper noted and colorful pen. Selective focus. Had a little big noise some area.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/what-to-know-about-401ks\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What to Know About 401(k)s\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Conner Ash\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2981787dac46b1dabe881c3f3d1cb3f0\",\"name\":\"Suzanne Watson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/99b3890c91abd2b78da7fea563a1b195b11e45ef03fe39d1330d72a70dc406b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/99b3890c91abd2b78da7fea563a1b195b11e45ef03fe39d1330d72a70dc406b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/99b3890c91abd2b78da7fea563a1b195b11e45ef03fe39d1330d72a70dc406b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Suzanne Watson\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.connerash.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/swatsonconnerash-com\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What to Know About 401(k)s - Conner Ash","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What to Know About 401(k)s - Conner Ash","og_description":"One of the common retirement plans offered by employers is a 401(k) plan. These plans make saving for retirement convenient. But make sure you understand the basics so you can capitalize on plan options and determine how your 401(k) fits into your overall retirement strategy. ELIGIBILITY RULES Some employers allow new hires to enroll in … Continue reading \"What to Know About 401(k)s\"","og_url":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/","og_site_name":"Conner Ash","article_published_time":"2025-04-02T14:07:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-26T14:25:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1333,"url":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/What_To_Know_About_401ks-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Suzanne Watson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Suzanne Watson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/"},"author":{"name":"Suzanne Watson","@id":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2981787dac46b1dabe881c3f3d1cb3f0"},"headline":"What to Know About 401(k)s","datePublished":"2025-04-02T14:07:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-26T14:25:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/"},"wordCount":419,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/What_To_Know_About_401ks-1-768x1024.jpg","articleSection":["401(k)","Newsletters"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/","url":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/","name":"What to Know About 401(k)s - Conner Ash","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/What_To_Know_About_401ks-1-768x1024.jpg","datePublished":"2025-04-02T14:07:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-26T14:25:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2981787dac46b1dabe881c3f3d1cb3f0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/What_To_Know_About_401ks-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/What_To_Know_About_401ks-1.jpg","width":1000,"height":1333,"caption":"Flatlay of glasses, calculator pen and noted book written 401 (k) Plan. Also had small pink paper noted and colorful pen. Selective focus. Had a little big noise some area."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/what-to-know-about-401ks\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What to Know About 401(k)s"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/","name":"Conner Ash","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2981787dac46b1dabe881c3f3d1cb3f0","name":"Suzanne Watson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99b3890c91abd2b78da7fea563a1b195b11e45ef03fe39d1330d72a70dc406b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99b3890c91abd2b78da7fea563a1b195b11e45ef03fe39d1330d72a70dc406b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99b3890c91abd2b78da7fea563a1b195b11e45ef03fe39d1330d72a70dc406b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Suzanne Watson"},"url":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/author\/swatsonconnerash-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3541"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3543,"href":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3541\/revisions\/3543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.connerash.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}