Colgate-Palmolive Company 401(k): Alight, match 4.5% of pay
Colgate-Palmolive Company Employees Savings and Investment Plan · CL · CIK 21665
Alight is the recordkeeper named on the Form 5500 filed for Colgate-Palmolive Company Employees Savings & Investment Plan, the company that keeps the account records. Where to log in, and what the filing says.
Employer match stated in the filing, as a share of pay
4.5%
Colgate-Palmolive Company's 401(k) employer match tops out at 4.5% of pay; the filing does not set the rate out band by band.
Colgate-Palmolive's Form 11-K filings for plan year 2025 describe two separate 401(k) plans. The terms on this page are read from the Colgate-Palmolive Company Employees Savings and Investment Plan. Both state the same maximum match.
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 Colgate-Palmolive 401(k) plan are you in?
Colgate-Palmolive's Form 11-K filings for this plan year describe two plans and all of them state the same maximum employer match. The group each plan covers still differs, and so can the vesting and enrollment terms further down this page, which are read from the Colgate-Palmolive Company Employees Savings and Investment Plan.
Colgate-Palmolive Company Employees Savings and Investment Plan (the plan this page answers for)
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers · Form 11-K ↗
4.5% of pay, at most
Colgate-Palmolive Puerto Rico Savings and Investment Plan
Employees in Puerto Rico · Form 11-K ↗
4.5% of pay, at most
One row per plan, taken from the two Form 11-K reports 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 Colgate-Palmolive puts in, and what the plan costs
What Colgate-Palmolive put into the plan, per active participant
$11,702
Colgate-Palmolive Company put $11,702 into this plan for each of its 6,041 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.
Colgate-Palmolive put in more per active participant than 69% of plans with 5,000+ participants in pharmaceuticals and chemicals. The middle plan in that group of 63 reported $8,101. Pharmaceuticals and chemicals comes from business code 325600, which Colgate-Palmolive 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 Colgate-Palmolive 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 131815595, plan 003 · DOL EFAST2 ↗
The $11,702 above is the Form 5500 figure for plan year 2024, and it counts every employer dollar on one line. Colgate-Palmolive Company also files a Form 11-K, which states the match formula for plan year 2025: the card below reads $2,228 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 Colgate-Palmolive puts in
$2,228
a year, at a $49,500 salary.
The filing discloses only part of the formula. The most it states the employer adds is 4.5% of pay, for a worker contributing 6% of pay.
The match paragraph, word for word
“The Company and wholly-owned subsidiaries to which the Plan has been extended, make matching contributions of 50% to 75% of participant contributions up to 6% of eligible earnings, depending on years of service and collective bargaining agreements.”
What you contribute to collect all of it
Contribute at least 6% of your pay to collect the full match.
That is $2,970 a year at a $49,500 salary, and it scales with your own.
Vesting score
64.29 out of 100
How fast the employer’s money becomes yours. Higher than 29% 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%, 50%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%. The score is the average of those 7 readings.
Vesting, word for word
“Participants are 50% vested in their Company matching contribution accounts after two years of service and fully vested after three years of service or, if while active, they reach age 55, become permanently disabled, or die, or in the event of Plan termination.”
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
100th percentile
$375.65 per participant in plan-paid administrative cost, more expensive than 100% of plans with 5,000+ participants.
What is Colgate-Palmolive's 401(k) match formula?
Colgate-Palmolive discloses only part of its 401(k) match terms; matching contributions run up to 4.5% of pay. 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 6% of pay |
|---|---|
| Maximum employer match | 4.5% of compensation |
| Paid in company stock | No, paid in cash or per your investment elections |
| Conditions | The match rate ranges from 50% to 75% of participant contributions up to 6% of eligible earnings, depending on years of service and collective bargaining agreements, so the maximum match ranges from 3% to 4.5% of eligible earnings. Matching contributions are invested in the same manner as participant elections. Effective April 1, 2024, employer contributions are not available to interns. |
| Other employer contribution | Basic Retirement Contributions (BRCs) and Additional Basic Retirement Contributions (ABRCs) of 4% to 15% of eligible earnings depending on years of service and prior eligibility status in the Company's Employees' Retirement Income Plan; executives no longer receive ABRCs since January 1, 2020 |
| Other employer contribution | Success Sharing Program: discretionary allocation equal to a percentage of eligible earnings if annual financial targets are met, generally requiring employment on the last day of the year; fundable in cash or Company stock |
What the filing says, word for word
“The Company and wholly-owned subsidiaries to which the Plan has been extended, make matching contributions of 50% to 75% of participant contributions up to 6% of eligible earnings, depending on years of service and collective bargaining agreements.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 24, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
What is Colgate-Palmolive's 401(k) vesting schedule?
Colgate-Palmolive vests the employer match on a graded schedule: 50% after two years, rising to 100% after three. Each step is money that leaves with you that year, which is how a graded schedule differs from a cliff.
| Employer match vesting | Graded: 50% at 2 yr, 100% at 3 yr |
|---|---|
| Your own contributions | Immediate: always 100% yours |
| Accelerated vesting | Full vesting if, while active, participants reach age 55, become permanently disabled, or die, or in the event of Plan termination |
| Other employer contributions | Company retirement contributions (BRCs/ABRCs) are 50% vested after two years of service and fully vested after three years of service, with the same acceleration triggers; Success Sharing Account allocations are fully vested at all times |
Vesting, word for word
“Participants are 50% vested in their Company matching contribution accounts after two years of service and fully vested after three years of service or, if while active, they reach age 55, become permanently disabled, or die, or in the event of Plan termination.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 24, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
Who can join Colgate-Palmolive's 401(k), and is enrollment automatic?
Colgate-Palmolive enrolls new hires automatically at 6% of pay, rising 1% a year to 10% of pay.
| Plan entry | Effective April 1, 2024, employees are eligible to participate upon hire, regardless of scheduled or completed hours |
|---|---|
| Excluded groups | Interns are not eligible for employer contributions (effective April 1, 2024); Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. employees covered by collective bargaining agreements are not eligible for Company retirement contributions unless provided for by the agreement |
| Automatic enrollment | Yes: default deferral 6% of pay; 45-day opt-out window; auto-escalation +1%/yr to 10% |
Eligibility, word for word
“Effective April 1, 2024, employees are eligible to participate in the Plan upon hire, regardless of their scheduled or completed hours.”
Automatic enrollment, word for word
“Eligible participants are automatically enrolled 45 days after their hire date (or first eligibility date) to contribute 6% of eligible earnings to the Plan unless they affirmatively elect not to participate or to contribute at a different rate. The contribution rate for automatically enrolled participants automatically increases by 1% each year until the contribution rate reaches 10%. The contribution rate for participants automatically enrolled prior to January 1, 2023 was 3% of eligible compensation and the automatic increase was 1% per year until the contribution rate reached a maximum of 6%.”
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 Alight, filed as “ALIGHT SOLUTIONS, LLC”. 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 Alight, find your HR website ↗. Alight runs a separate site for each employer, so that page asks which employer you work for first. 401(k) Monitor is not affiliated with Alight or with any other recordkeeper, and takes nothing for this link. It is here because that is where the account is.
| Recordkeeper | Alight |
|---|---|
| Recordkeeper EIN | 821061233 |
What does the Colgate-Palmolive plan report on Form 5500?
The Colgate-Palmolive plan reported $3.3B in assets and 8,623 participants for plan year 2024.
| Total plan assets | $3,268,138,059 |
|---|---|
| Participants | 8,623 |
| Plan-paid admin cost per participant | $375.65 |
How that cost compares
This plan pays $375.65 per participant. The median across plans in pharmaceuticals and chemicals is $128.47, from the 870 of 942 whose Form 5500 yields a per-participant cost.
How does Colgate-Palmolive's 401(k) match compare?
Colgate-Palmolive Company's maximum 401(k) match of 4.5% of pay compares with a median of 4% across the 269 companies in our data with a computable formula.
Employers worth reading next
Of the six employers below, three file in pharmaceuticals and chemicals, two land near Colgate-Palmolive's maximum match and one vests on the same schedule.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Also in pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
Maximum match 4.5% of pay. Also in pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Also in pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
Maximum match 4.5% of pay, level with Colgate-Palmolive.
Maximum match 4.5% of pay, level with Colgate-Palmolive.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Also fully vested after 3 years, like Colgate-Palmolive.
Compare Colgate-Palmolive Company with any company, side by side
What do Colgate-Palmolive's other 401(k) plans say?
Colgate-Palmolive Puerto Rico Savings and Investment Plan
Employees in Puerto Rico
Colgate-Palmolive Company discloses only part of its match terms in the 11-K for the plan year ended December 31, 2025.
- Employer match vesting
- Graded: 50% at 2 yr, 100% at 3 yr
- Automatic enrollment
- Not mentioned in the filing (not proof of absence)
What the filing says, word for word
“The Company matches participant pre-tax contributions at a rate of 50% or 75% of the participant’s pre-tax contributions, up to a maximum of 6% of participant eligible compensation depending on years of service. Company matching contributions are invested in the same manner as participant elections for investment of their participant contributions. Contributions made are diversifiable, on a daily basis, immediately upon allocation, among any of the investment funds in the Plan. Participants are 50% vested in their matching contribution accounts after two years of service and fully vested after three years of service or, if while active, they reach age 55, become permanently disabled, or die, or in the event of Plan termination. Effective April 1, 2024, employer contributions, including Company matching contributions are not available to interns.”
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 Colgate-Palmolive Company's 401(k) match?
Colgate-Palmolive Company discloses only part of its match terms in the 11-K for the plan year ended December 31, 2025.
When does the Colgate-Palmolive Company 401(k) match vest?
Graded: 50% at 2 yr, 100% at 3 yr.
Does Colgate-Palmolive Company's 401(k) plan have automatic enrollment?
Yes: default deferral 6% of pay; 45-day opt-out window; auto-escalation +1%/yr to 10%.
Who is the recordkeeper for Colgate-Palmolive Company's 401(k)?
Alight is named as the recordkeeper on the Form 5500 filed for Colgate-Palmolive Company Employees Savings & Investment 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 Colgate-Palmolive Company 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 | Colgate-Palmolive Company |
| SEC CIK | 21665 |
| Accession number | 0000021665-26-000034 |
| Plan | Colgate-Palmolive Company Employees Savings and Investment Plan |
| Period of report | December 31, 2025 |
| Filed | June 24, 2026 |
401(k) Monitor is not affiliated with Colgate-Palmolive Company, 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, “Colgate-Palmolive Company 401(k) plan facts”, from SEC Form 11-K accession 0000021665-26-000034, plan year ended December 31, 2025.
