Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 401(k) match for non-salaried BNSF Railway employees: 1% max
BNSF Railway Company Non-Salaried Employees 401(k) Retirement Plan · BRK.B · CIK 1067983
Maximum employer match, as a share of pay
1%
The Berkshire Hathaway BNSF Railway plan matches 25% of the first 4% of pay.
The match, vesting and enrollment terms below are for non-salaried BNSF Railway employees: they are read from the BNSF Railway Company Non-Salaried Employees 401(k) Retirement Plan. Berkshire Hathaway filed nine Form 11-K reports for plan year 2025, of which one has been read. The other eight reports have not, so this page cannot say what the plans they cover pay.
From the Form 11-K filed June 12, 2026 ↗, covering the plan year ended December 31, 2025. Page data last updated July 28, 2026, when the Form 5500 bulk data was last refreshed. Why filings lag
On this page: what the employer actually paid in · the formula, word for word · when the money becomes yours · who can join · what the plan reports to the DOL · how it compares · what to do next
What the Berkshire Hathaway BNSF Railway plan puts in, and what the plan costs
What Berkshire Hathaway put into the plan, per active participant
$7,465
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. put $7,465 into this plan for each of its 935 active participants in plan year 2024. This is the whole employer side of the plan: matching money, profit sharing, non-elective and safe-harbor contributions, and reallocated forfeitures. The Form 5500 does not separate them, so this is what the employer put in and not the match.
Berkshire Hathaway put in more per active participant than 83% of plans with 1,000–4,999 participants in insurance. The middle plan in that group of 206 reported $3,948. Insurance comes from business code 524150, which Berkshire Hathaway entered on its own Form 5500. Sponsors pick that code themselves, so a code that does not describe what the employer does ranks the plan against the wrong companies.
The match terms above are read from the BNSF Railway Company Non-Salaried Employees 401(k) Retirement Plan, which covers non-salaried BNSF Railway employees. This figure is read from the Form 5500 filed for Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company Retirement Pla, which is a filing of its own. Matched to this employer by sponsor name, not by an identifier stated in the filing. This record could cover another plan of the same employer.
What this figure cannot separate: how much Berkshire Hathaway pays, and how much it puts in
This is dollars, not a rate. A Form 5500 carries no payroll, so the figure reflects both how much the employer puts in and how much the employer pays: two plans running the same formula report different amounts when one pays better. Crossing the peer group with industry holds most of that difference still, and none of it disappears.
This is one plan year, not an average. A true-up, a plan merger or a one-off contribution moves a single year on its own.
Source: DOL Form 5500 for the plan year ended December 31, 2024, EIN 630202590, plan 001 · DOL EFAST2 ↗
The $7,465 above is the Form 5500 figure for plan year 2024, and it counts every employer dollar on one line. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. also files a Form 11-K, which states the match formula for plan year 2025: the card below reads $495 a year at a $49,500 salary, and the same filing states employer contributions made outside the match. That second figure is what the formula pays one worker on that salary, and not an amount either filing reports. The two figures cover different plan years and measure different things, so neither one is the other one corrected.
What the Berkshire Hathaway BNSF Railway plan puts in
$495
a year, at a $49,500 salary.
The match paragraph, word for word
“BNSF Railway matches 25% of the first 4% of employee-elected before-tax contributions and/or Roth contributions for each pay period for employees whose collective bargaining agreement provides for a BNSF Railway match. Beginning January 1, 2024, former MRL employees, less than 1,000 in total, began participating in the Plan. And the BNSF match for members of the MRL collective bargaining unit is 50% of the first 8% of employee-elected before-tax contributions and/or Roth contributions. Matching contributions are made in cash, as soon as practicable after the end of each pay period.”
What you contribute to collect all of it
Contribute at least 4% of your pay to collect the full match.
That is $1,980 a year at a $49,500 salary, and it scales with your own.
Vesting score
57.14 out of 100
How fast the employer’s money becomes yours. Higher than 4% of the 253 schedules we have scored.
It measures vesting speed and nothing else. It says nothing about the size of the match, what the plan charges, or the funds inside it.
Share of the employer's money that is the worker's at hire and at each of the first 6 anniversaries: 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100%, 100%. The score is the average of those 7 readings.
Vesting, word for word
“Participants are immediately vested in their elective contributions plus any income or loss thereon. BNSF Railway’s matching contributions become fully vested in accordance with the following schedule: Number of Years of Vesting Service* Vested Percentage Less than 1 year 0% 1 year but less than 2 years 20% 2 years but less than 3 years 40% 3 years but less than 4 years 60% 4 years but less than 5 years 80% 5 years or more 100% * The term “Vesting Service” is defined as the number of plan years in which the participant is compensated for at least 1,000 hours of work by BNSF Railway, in any capacity. Participants are immediately vested in any BLET contributions.”
The wait before the match starts and the year-end true-up appear above when the filing states them. Neither is part of the score, and a filing that is silent on one of them is not a plan without it.
What the plan costs, against plans of its size
36th percentile
$63.34 per participant in plan-paid administrative cost, cheaper than 64% of plans with 1,000–4,999 participants.
What is the Berkshire Hathaway BNSF Railway plan's 401(k) match formula?
The Berkshire Hathaway BNSF Railway plan's 401(k) employer match tops out at 1% of pay. The match is deposited each payroll. One rate up to one limit is the commonest of the four shapes a match formula takes.
| Match formula | 25% of the first 4% of pay |
|---|---|
| Maximum employer match | 1% of compensation |
| Deposited | Each payroll |
| Paid in company stock | No, paid in cash or per your investment elections |
| Conditions | The match applies only to employees whose collective bargaining agreement provides for a BNSF Railway match. For members of the Montana Rail Link collective bargaining unit the match is 50% of the first 8% of before-tax and/or Roth contributions. Matching contributions are made in cash after each pay period. |
| Other employer contribution | BLET Contribution: a single vested contribution made around March 1 of each year equal to 25% of 1% of the prior calendar year's qualified earnings for each eligible employee in the engineer's craft, per the agreement with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen |
| Other employer contribution | Sick leave deposits in lieu of compensation for unused sick time, for participants under certain collective bargaining agreements |
At a $90,000 salary, contributing 4% ($3,600) earns the full employer match of $900 for the year.
What the filing says, word for word
“BNSF Railway matches 25% of the first 4% of employee-elected before-tax contributions and/or Roth contributions for each pay period for employees whose collective bargaining agreement provides for a BNSF Railway match. Beginning January 1, 2024, former MRL employees, less than 1,000 in total, began participating in the Plan. And the BNSF match for members of the MRL collective bargaining unit is 50% of the first 8% of employee-elected before-tax contributions and/or Roth contributions. Matching contributions are made in cash, as soon as practicable after the end of each pay period.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 12, 2026, SEC EDGAR, corroborated by the filing's inline-XBRL facts · SEC ↗
What is the Berkshire Hathaway BNSF Railway plan's 401(k) vesting schedule?
The Berkshire Hathaway BNSF Railway plan vests the employer match on a graded schedule: 20% after one year, rising to 100% after five. Each step is money that leaves with you that year, which is how a graded schedule differs from a cliff.
| Employer match vesting | Graded: 20% at 1 yr, 40% at 2 yr, 60% at 3 yr, 80% at 4 yr, 100% at 5 yr |
|---|---|
| Your own contributions | Immediate: always 100% yours |
| Year of service | Vesting Service is the number of plan years in which the participant is compensated for at least 1,000 hours of work by BNSF Railway in any capacity |
| Other employer contributions | BLET contributions are immediately vested; former Montana Rail Link employees received vesting service credit for their MRL tenure |
Vesting, word for word
“Participants are immediately vested in their elective contributions plus any income or loss thereon. BNSF Railway’s matching contributions become fully vested in accordance with the following schedule: Number of Years of Vesting Service* Vested Percentage Less than 1 year 0% 1 year but less than 2 years 20% 2 years but less than 3 years 40% 3 years but less than 4 years 60% 4 years but less than 5 years 80% 5 years or more 100% * The term “Vesting Service” is defined as the number of plan years in which the participant is compensated for at least 1,000 hours of work by BNSF Railway, in any capacity. Participants are immediately vested in any BLET contributions.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 12, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
Who can join the Berkshire Hathaway BNSF Railway plan's 401(k), and is enrollment automatic?
The Berkshire Hathaway BNSF Railway plan's filing does not mention automatic enrollment, which is not the same as the plan having none.
| Plan entry | Effective October 1, 2023, any employee who establishes seniority under a collective bargaining agreement that provides for participation in this Plan is eligible immediately upon hire |
|---|---|
| Match eligibility | Only employees whose collective bargaining agreement provides for a BNSF Railway match receive matching contributions |
| Automatic enrollment | Not mentioned in the filing (not proof of absence) |
Eligibility, word for word
“Effective October 1, 2023, any employee who establishes seniority under a collective bargaining agreement that provides for participation in this Plan is eligible to participate in the Plan immediately upon hire.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 12, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
What does the Berkshire Hathaway plan report on Form 5500?
The Berkshire Hathaway plan reported $174.1M in assets and 1,047 participants for plan year 2024.
Matched to this employer by sponsor name, not by an identifier stated in the filing. This record could cover another plan of the same employer.
| Plan named in the DOL record | Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company Retirement Pla |
|---|---|
| Total plan assets | $174,080,726 |
| Participants | 1,047 |
| Recordkeeper | Mayflower Financial Advisors, LLC |
| Plan-paid admin cost per participant | $63.34 |
How that cost compares
This plan pays $63.34 per participant. The median across plans in insurance is $119.27, from the 1,004 of 1,068 whose Form 5500 yields a per-participant cost.
How does the Berkshire Hathaway BNSF Railway plan's 401(k) match compare?
The Berkshire Hathaway BNSF Railway plan's maximum 401(k) match of 1% of pay compares with a median of 4.5% across the 181 companies in our data with a computable formula.
Employers worth reading next
Of the six employers below, three file in insurance, two land near Berkshire Hathaway's maximum match and one vests on the same schedule.
Maximum match 2.1% of pay. Also in insurance.
Maximum match 3% of pay. Also in insurance.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Also in insurance.
Maximum match 0.25% of pay, 0.75 points below Berkshire Hathaway.
Maximum match 1.5% of pay, 0.5 points above Berkshire Hathaway.
Match vests in steps, 100% after 5 years. Also fully vested after 5 years, like Berkshire Hathaway.
Compare Berkshire Hathaway Inc. with any company, side by side
What can you do next?
- Read the Form 11-K on SEC EDGAR ↗
Form 11-K filed June 12, 2026, SEC EDGAR. Every match fact on this page comes from it.
- Changed jobs? Find an old 401(k) ↗
The Department of Labor's Retirement Savings Lost & Found, a free government database.
- This year's IRS contribution limits ↗
The official deferral and catch-up limits every formula operates under.
- Download this data (CSV)
Formula, vesting and source references for this company, one file.
Questions this filing answers
What is Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s 401(k) match for non-salaried BNSF Railway employees?
The BNSF Railway Company Non-Salaried Employees 401(k) Retirement Plan covers non-salaried BNSF Railway employees. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. matches 25% of employee contributions up to 4% of eligible pay (plan year ended December 31, 2025).
When does the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 401(k) match vest for non-salaried BNSF Railway employees?
Graded: 20% at 1 yr, 40% at 2 yr, 60% at 3 yr, 80% at 4 yr, 100% at 5 yr.
Does Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s 401(k) plan for non-salaried BNSF Railway employees have automatic enrollment?
Not mentioned in the filing (not proof of absence).
Cite: 401(k) Monitor, “Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 401(k) plan facts for non-salaried BNSF Railway employees”, from SEC Form 11-K accession 0001193125-26-269301, plan year ended 2025-12-31.