DONALDSON Co INC 401(k) match: 4% max
Donaldson Company, Inc. Retirement Savings and Employee Stock Ownership Plan · DCI · CIK 29644
Maximum employer match, as a share of pay
4%
DONALDSON Co INC matches 100% (dollar-for-dollar) of the first 3% of pay, then 50% of the next 2% of pay, for a maximum employer match of 4% of pay.
From the Form 11-K filed June 18, 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 DONALDSON puts in, and what the plan costs
What DONALDSON put into the plan, per active participant
$5,106
DONALDSON Co INC put $5,106 into this plan for each of its 4,348 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.
DONALDSON put in more per active participant than 71% of plans with 5,000+ participants in industrial and materials manufacturing. The middle plan in that group of 178 reported $3,585. Industrial and materials manufacturing comes from business code 333900, which DONALDSON 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.
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 DONALDSON 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 410222640, plan 007 · DOL EFAST2 ↗
The $5,106 above is the Form 5500 figure for plan year 2024, and it counts every employer dollar on one line. DONALDSON Co INC also files a Form 11-K, which states the match formula for plan year 2025: the card below reads $1,980 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 DONALDSON puts in
$1,980
a year, at a $49,500 salary.
The match paragraph, word for word
“100% of the first 3% and 50% of the next 2% of compensation contributed by the participant”
What you contribute to collect all of it
Contribute at least 5% of your pay to collect the full match.
That is $2,475 a year at a $49,500 salary, and it scales with your own.
Vesting score
100 out of 100
How fast the employer’s money becomes yours. Higher than 48% 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: 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%. The score is the average of those 7 readings.
Vesting, word for word
“Participants are 100% vested in their accounts at all times.”
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
82nd percentile
$96.93 per participant in plan-paid administrative cost, more expensive than 82% of plans with 5,000+ participants.
What is DONALDSON's 401(k) match formula?
DONALDSON's 401(k) employer match tops out at 4% of pay. The match is deposited each payroll. A tiered formula pays its best rate on the first slice of pay and less on the next, which is how the rate steps down.
| Match formula | 100% (dollar-for-dollar) of the first 3% of pay |
|---|---|
| then | 50% of the next 2% of pay |
| Maximum employer match | 4% of compensation |
| Deposited | Each payroll |
| Paid in company stock | Yes |
| Other employer contribution | All eligible participants as defined by the Plan receive an additional annual retirement contribution of 3% of participant’s compensation, paid after Plan year-end, 100% in the participant's directed investment elections, subject to 3 years of vesting service. |
At a $45,000 salary, contributing 5% ($2,250) earns the full employer match of $1,800 for the year.
What the filing says, word for word
“100% of the first 3% and 50% of the next 2% of compensation contributed by the participant”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 18, 2026, SEC EDGAR, corroborated by the filing's inline-XBRL facts · SEC ↗
What is DONALDSON's 401(k) vesting schedule?
DONALDSON vests the employer match immediately: 100% is yours as soon as it is paid in. Nothing is forfeited when you leave, which is not true of the two schedules that vest over time.
| Employer match vesting | Immediate: employer match is 100% vested when contributed |
|---|---|
| Your own contributions | Immediate: always 100% yours |
| Other employer contributions | 3 years of vesting service |
Vesting, word for word
“Participants are 100% vested in their accounts at all times.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 18, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
Who can join DONALDSON's 401(k), and is enrollment automatic?
DONALDSON enrolls new hires automatically at 3% of pay.
| Plan entry | Full-time and part-time employees are eligible to participate in the Plan upon employment, as defined by the Plan. |
|---|---|
| Excluded groups | Employees covered by a labor agreement are not eligible for employer contributions unless their labor agreement and the Plan provide for it. As of January 1, 2024, all employees covered by labor agreements are eligible for employer contributions. |
| Automatic enrollment | Yes: default deferral 3% of pay; 45-day opt-out window; default investment: State Street Target Retirement Fund |
Eligibility, word for word
“Full-time and part-time employees are eligible to participate in the Plan upon employment, as defined by the Plan.”
Automatic enrollment, word for word
“Employees who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement are automatically enrolled at a 3% pre-tax 401(k) employee contribution 45 days after they become eligible unless they proactively opt out of the Plan or choose a different percentage amount for their contribution.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 18, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
What does the DONALDSON plan report on Form 5500?
The DONALDSON plan reported $827.0M in assets and 5,839 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 | Donaldson Company, Inc. Retirement Savings And Employee Stock Ownership Plan |
|---|---|
| Total plan assets | $827,000,720 |
| Participants | 5,839 |
| Recordkeeper | Fidelity Investments |
| Plan-paid admin cost per participant | $96.93 |
How that cost compares
This plan pays $96.93 per participant. The median across plans in industrial and materials manufacturing is $142.19, from the 5,709 of 6,008 whose Form 5500 yields a per-participant cost.
The plan reports Fidelity Investments as its recordkeeper, one of 10,593 plans it runs in the data we publish. Of those, the 10,022 with a computable fee have a median plan-paid cost of $97.71 per participant.
How does DONALDSON's 401(k) match compare?
DONALDSON Co INC's maximum 401(k) match of 4% 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 industrial and materials manufacturing, two report the same recordkeeper and one vests on the same schedule.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Also in industrial and materials manufacturing.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Also in industrial and materials manufacturing.
Maximum match 3.5% of pay. Also in industrial and materials manufacturing.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Same recordkeeper, Fidelity Investments.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Same recordkeeper, Fidelity Investments.
Maximum match 3.5% of pay. Vests immediately too, like DONALDSON.
What can you do next?
Check your own balance and contribution rate at Fidelity NetBenefits ↗, the recordkeeper this plan reports.
- Read the Form 11-K on SEC EDGAR ↗
Form 11-K filed June 18, 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 DONALDSON Co INC's 401(k) match?
DONALDSON Co INC matches 100% (dollar-for-dollar) of the first 3% of pay, then 50% of the next 2% of pay, for a maximum employer match of 4% of compensation (plan year ended December 31, 2025).
When does the DONALDSON Co INC 401(k) match vest?
Immediate: employer match is 100% vested when contributed.
Does DONALDSON Co INC's 401(k) plan have automatic enrollment?
Yes: default deferral 3% of pay; 45-day opt-out window; default investment: State Street Target Retirement Fund.
Cite: 401(k) Monitor, “DONALDSON Co INC 401(k) plan facts”, from SEC Form 11-K accession 0000029644-26-000057, plan year ended 2025-12-31.