BP PLC 401(k) match: vests after 3 years
Archaea Employee Savings Plan · BP · CIK 313807
Fidelity Investments is the recordkeeper named on the Form 5500 filed for BP Employee Savings Plan, the company that keeps the account records. Where to log in, and what the filing says.
The 401(k) employer match
Only part of the formula is filed
BP PLC discloses only part of its 401(k) match terms: it matches a rate set at the sponsor's discretion on the first 4% of pay.
BP's Form 11-K filing for plan year 2025 describes five separate 401(k) plans. The terms on this page are read from the Archaea Employee Savings Plan. Not all of them state a match formula, so each one is listed below with the group it covers and what its filing says.
From the Form 11-K filed June 24, 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: which plan you are in · what the employer actually paid in · the formula, word for word · when the money becomes yours · who can join · who holds your account · what the plan reports to the DOL · how it compares · what to do next
Which BP 401(k) plan are you in?
BP's Form 11-K filing for this plan year describes five plans, and not all of them state a match formula. Find the plan you are in before you take a number off this page. The terms in the rest of the page are read from the Archaea Employee Savings Plan.
Archaea Employee Savings Plan (the plan this page answers for)
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers · Form 11-K ↗
Not stated
BP DirectSave Plan
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers · Form 11-K ↗
Not stated
BP Employee Savings Plan
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers · Form 11-K ↗
Not stated
BP Partnership Savings Plan
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers · Form 11-K ↗
Not stated
BPX Energy Employee Savings Plan
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers · Form 11-K ↗
Not stated
One row per plan, taken from the Form 11-K report this site has read for the plan year ended December 31, 2025. Each maximum comes from that plan’s own filing and describes only that plan.
What BP puts in, and what the plan costs
What BP put into the plan, per active participant
$13,670
BP PLC put $13,670 into this plan for each of its 9,333 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.
BP put in more per active participant than 90% of plans with 5,000+ participants in oil, gas and mining. The middle plan in that group of 31 reported $7,448. Oil, gas and mining comes from business code 324110, which BP 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.
What this figure cannot separate: how much BP 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 361812780, plan 001 · DOL EFAST2 ↗
What BP puts in
Not stated in the filing
Only part of the match formula is disclosed in the filing, so the yearly dollars cannot be computed from it.
The Form 5500 for this plan reports what BP actually paid in: the figure and its peer comparison are above. It is the whole employer side of the plan on one line, so it answers what went in rather than what the formula promises.
Two places state the terms in full: your plan’s Summary Plan Description, which your employer must provide on request, and your recordkeeper’s site, which for this plan is Fidelity NetBenefits ↗.
What you contribute to collect all of it
Not stated in the filing
The filing does not state the contribution rate that collects the full employer contribution.
Vesting score
57.14 out of 100
How fast the employer’s money becomes yours. Higher than 5% of the 369 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%, 0%, 0%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%. The score is the average of those 7 readings.
Vesting, word for word
“Full vesting in Company contribution accounts occurs with three years of vesting service.”
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
24th percentile
$30.84 per participant in plan-paid administrative cost, cheaper than 76% of plans with 5,000+ participants.
What is BP's 401(k) match formula?
BP discloses only part of its 401(k) match terms in this filing. 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 | A rate set at the sponsor's discretion on the first 4% of pay |
|---|---|
| Deposited | Each payroll |
| Paid in company stock | No, paid in cash or per your investment elections |
| Other employer contribution | Participants are also eligible for 3 percent of compensation each pay period as a non-elective contribution by the Company. |
What the filing says, word for word
“A specified portion of the employee contribution, up to a maximum of 4 percent of compensation, is matched each pay period by the Company.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 24, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
What is BP's 401(k) vesting schedule?
BP vests the employer match on a cliff schedule: nothing is yours until three years of service, then 100% at once. Leave a day early and the employer money goes back to the plan, the edge a three-year cliff creates.
| Employer match vesting | Cliff: 100% vested after 3 years of service |
|---|---|
| Your own contributions | Immediate: always 100% yours |
Vesting, word for word
“Full vesting in Company contribution accounts occurs with three years of vesting service.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 24, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
Who can join BP's 401(k), and is enrollment automatic?
BP enrolls new hires automatically at 4% of pay.
| Plan entry | Generally, an employee associated with the Archaea sub-entity (or a participating affiliate) is eligible to participate in AESP immediately upon the date of hire. Employees who are represented by a labor organization that has bargained for and agreed to the provisions of AESP are also eligible. |
|---|---|
| Automatic enrollment | Yes: default deferral 4% of pay; default investment: a target date fund nearest the employee’s retirement date (assumed to be at age 65) |
Eligibility, word for word
“Generally, an employee associated with the Archaea sub-entity (or a participating affiliate) is eligible to participate in AESP immediately upon the date of hire. Employees who are represented by a labor organization that has bargained for and agreed to the provisions of AESP are also eligible.”
Automatic enrollment, word for word
“AESP includes an auto-enrollment provision whereby all eligible new hires and rehires are automatically enrolled in AESP unless they affirmatively elect not to participate. Automatically enrolled participants have their pre-tax deferral rate set at 4 percent of eligible compensation.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 24, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
Who holds your account
Schedule C of the Form 5500 filed for plan year 2024 reports Fidelity Investments, filed as “FIDELITY INVESTMENTS OPERATIONS”. That is the company paid to keep the account records: what is in an account, what went into it, and usually the site a participant signs in to. The trustee that holds the plan’s assets can be a different company, and this filing does not name it.
Participants log in at Fidelity NetBenefits ↗. 401(k) Monitor is not affiliated with Fidelity Investments or with any other recordkeeper, and takes nothing for this link. It is here because that is where the account is.
| Recordkeeper | Fidelity Investments |
|---|---|
| Recordkeeper EIN | 042647786 |
What does the BP plan report on Form 5500?
The BP plan reported $8.3B in assets and 20,538 participants for plan year 2024.
| Total plan assets | $8,263,662,544 |
|---|---|
| Participants | 20,538 |
| Plan-paid admin cost per participant | $30.84 |
How that cost compares
This plan pays $30.84 per participant. The median across plans in oil, gas and mining is $124.28, from the 618 of 653 whose Form 5500 yields a per-participant cost.
BP Employee Savings Plan on its Form 5500 filing: fees, providers and financials
How does BP's 401(k) match compare?
BP PLC's filing does not state a maximum 401(k) match as a share of pay. Across the 269 companies in our data that do, the median is 4% of pay.
Employers worth reading next
Of the six employers below, three file in oil, gas and mining and three vest on the same schedule.
Maximum match 8% of pay. Also in oil, gas and mining.
Maximum match 8% of pay. Also in oil, gas and mining.
Maximum match 7.98% of pay. Also in oil, gas and mining.
Maximum match 3% of pay. Same 3-year cliff as BP.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Same 3-year cliff as BP.
Maximum match 3% of pay. Same 3-year cliff as BP.
What do BP's other 401(k) plans say?
BP DirectSave Plan
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers
BP Plc discloses only part of its match terms in the 11-K for the plan year ended December 31, 2025.
- Employer match vesting
- Immediate: employer match is 100% vested when contributed
- Automatic enrollment
- Not mentioned in the filing (not proof of absence)
What the filing says, word for word
“Once eligible, a specified portion of the employee contribution, up to a maximum of 4 percent of compensation, as defined under DSP, is matched each pay period by the Company.”
BP Employee Savings Plan
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers
BP Plc discloses only part of its match terms in the 11-K for the plan year ended December 31, 2025.
- Employer match vesting
- Cliff: 100% vested after 3 years of service
- Automatic enrollment
- Yes: default deferral 7% of pay; default investment: a target date fund nearest the employee’s retirement date (assumed to be at age 65)
What the filing says, word for word
“Beginning July 1, 2025, a specified portion of the employee contribution, up to a maximum of 4 percent of compensation, as defined under ESP, is matched each pay period by the Company.”
BP Partnership Savings Plan
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers
BP Plc discloses only part of its match terms in the 11-K for the plan year ended December 31, 2025.
- Employer match vesting
- Cliff: 100% vested after 3 years of service
- Automatic enrollment
- Yes: default deferral 4% of pay; default investment: a target date fund nearest the employee’s retirement date (assumed to be at age 65)
What the filing says, word for word
“Beginning July 1, 2025, a specified portion of the employee contribution, up to a maximum of 4 percent of compensation, as defined under PSP, is matched each pay period by the Company.”
BPX Energy Employee Savings Plan
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers
BP Plc discloses only part of its match terms in the 11-K for the plan year ended December 31, 2025.
- Employer match vesting
- Cliff: 100% vested after 3 years of service
- Automatic enrollment
- Yes: default deferral 7% of pay; default investment: a target date fund nearest the employee’s retirement date (assumed to be at age 65)
What the filing says, word for word
“Beginning July 1, 2025, a specified portion of the employee contribution, up to a maximum of 4 percent of compensation, as defined under BPX, is matched each pay period by the Company.”
What can you do next?
- Read the Form 11-K on SEC EDGAR ↗
Form 11-K filed June 24, 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.
Questions this filing answers
What is BP PLC's 401(k) match?
BP Plc discloses only part of its match terms in the 11-K for the plan year ended December 31, 2025. BP PLC's Form 5500 for plan year 2024 reports $13,670 of employer money per active participant. 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.
When does the BP PLC 401(k) match vest?
Cliff: 100% vested after 3 years of service.
Does BP PLC's 401(k) plan have automatic enrollment?
Yes: default deferral 4% of pay; default investment: a target date fund nearest the employee’s retirement date (assumed to be at age 65).
Who is the recordkeeper for BP PLC's 401(k)?
Fidelity Investments is named as the recordkeeper on the Form 5500 filed for BP Employee Savings Plan for plan year 2024. That is the company paid to keep the account records: what is in an account, what went into it, and usually the site a participant signs in to.
Source
The match formula, the vesting schedule and the enrollment rules on this page were read from one document: the Form 11-K annual report that BP PLC filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for the plan year ended December 31, 2025. Each of those fields carries the filing sentence it was read from, expandable where the field appears. Nothing on this page was supplied by the employer to this site.
The plan assets, the participant counts, the plan-paid fees and the recordkeeper come from a different document, the plan’s DOL Form 5500 annual return, and the section that reports them links it. Comparisons with other employers are computed across the filings named in the section they appear in.
Read the filing on SEC EDGAR ↗
| Document | Form 11-K annual report |
|---|---|
| Filed with | US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) |
| Filed by | BP PLC |
| SEC CIK | 313807 |
| Accession number | 0001628280-26-045207 |
| Plan | Archaea Employee Savings Plan |
| Period of report | December 31, 2025 |
| Filed | June 24, 2026 |
401(k) Monitor is not affiliated with BP PLC, with the Securities and Exchange Commission or with this plan’s recordkeeper, and publishes this page without their involvement. It republishes a public filing and says where it came from.
Cite this page
401(k) Monitor, “BP PLC 401(k) plan facts”, from SEC Form 11-K accession 0001628280-26-045207, plan year ended December 31, 2025.
