Eaton Corporation plc 401(k) match: 3% max
Eaton Savings Plan · ETN · CIK 1551182
Maximum employer match, as a share of pay
3%
Eaton Corporation plc matches 50% of the first 6% of pay.
Eaton filed three Form 11-K reports for plan year 2025, of which one has been read. The other two reports have not, so this page cannot say what the plans they cover pay.
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: 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 Eaton puts in, and what the plan costs
What Eaton put into the plan, per active participant
$6,743
Eaton Corporation plc put $6,743 into this plan for each of its 25,714 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.
Eaton put in more per active participant than 77% of plans with 5,000+ participants in aerospace and vehicle manufacturing. The middle plan in that group of 69 reported $4,233. Aerospace and vehicle manufacturing comes from business code 336300, which Eaton 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 Eaton 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 340196300, plan 055 · DOL EFAST2 ↗
The $6,743 above is the Form 5500 figure for plan year 2024, and it counts every employer dollar on one line. Eaton Corporation plc also files a Form 11-K, which states the match formula for plan year 2025: the card below reads $1,485 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 Eaton puts in
$1,485
a year, at a $49,500 salary.
The match paragraph, word for word
“Employer Contributions (Matching) - Participants of the Plan receive a Company matching contribution of 50% of the first 6% of their deferred compensation.”
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
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
“All participants are 100% vested in elective deferrals, employer contributions (matching) for prior years, rollover contributions made to the Plan, and actual earnings thereon. Eligibility for current year employer contributions (matching) is subject to year-end eligibility requirements, as defined by the Plan. Vesting in the employer contributions (retirement and transitional pay contribution) portion of a participant's account plus actual earnings thereon is based on years of continuous service. Participants are 100% vested after three years of service, attainment of age 65, termination for disability, or upon the death of the participant.”
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
15th percentile
$20.04 per participant in plan-paid administrative cost, cheaper than 85% of plans with 5,000+ participants.
What is Eaton's 401(k) match formula?
Eaton's 401(k) employer match tops out at 3% of pay. One rate up to one limit is the commonest of the four shapes a match formula takes.
| Match formula | 50% of the first 6% of pay |
|---|---|
| Maximum employer match | 3% of compensation |
| Conditions | Eligibility for current year employer contributions (matching) is subject to year-end eligibility requirements, as defined by the Plan; employee and employer contributions are determined and recorded at the time compensation is paid |
| Other employer contribution | Non-elective Eaton Retirement Contribution of 4% of eligible compensation for certain members |
| Other employer contribution | Transitional Pay Contribution of 5% to 8% of eligible compensation for certain members, effective January 1, 2021 for a period of 5 years ending December 31, 2025 |
At a $75,000 salary, contributing 6% ($4,500) earns the full employer match of $2,250 for the year.
What the filing says, word for word
“Employer Contributions (Matching) - Participants of the Plan receive a Company matching contribution of 50% of the first 6% of their deferred compensation.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 24, 2026, SEC EDGAR, corroborated by the filing's inline-XBRL facts · SEC ↗
What is Eaton's 401(k) vesting schedule?
Eaton 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 | Employer retirement and transitional pay contributions plus earnings vest based on years of continuous service: 100% vested after three years of service, attainment of age 65, termination for disability, or death |
Vesting, word for word
“All participants are 100% vested in elective deferrals, employer contributions (matching) for prior years, rollover contributions made to the Plan, and actual earnings thereon. Eligibility for current year employer contributions (matching) is subject to year-end eligibility requirements, as defined by the Plan. Vesting in the employer contributions (retirement and transitional pay contribution) portion of a participant's account plus actual earnings thereon is based on years of continuous service. Participants are 100% vested after three years of service, attainment of age 65, termination for disability, or upon the death of the participant.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 24, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
Who can join Eaton's 401(k), and is enrollment automatic?
Eaton enrolls new hires automatically at 6% of pay.
| Plan entry | Eligible on any date established in accordance with administrative procedure which follows the date an employee first completes an hour of service |
|---|---|
| Excluded groups | Temporary employees hired for a specific, limited period or assignment, and employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement that does not specify coverage under the Plan |
| Automatic enrollment | Yes: default deferral 6% of pay |
Eligibility, word for word
“An employee who is in the regular service of the Company in a class or group to which the Company has extended eligibility for membership in the Plan (other than a temporary employee who is hired for a specific, limited period of time or for the performance of a specific, limited assignment or employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement that does not specify coverage under the Plan) will be eligible to participate on any date established in accordance with administrative procedure which follows the date an employee first completes an hour of service.”
Automatic enrollment, word for word
“Newly hired employees are automatically enrolled in the Plan at a rate of 6% of eligible compensation.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 24, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
What does the Eaton plan report on Form 5500?
The Eaton plan reported $8.4B in assets and 36,515 participants for plan year 2024.
| Total plan assets | $8,394,581,291 |
|---|---|
| Participants | 36,515 |
| Recordkeeper | Fidelity Investments Inst Op Co |
| Plan-paid admin cost per participant | $20.04 |
How that cost compares
This plan pays $20.04 per participant. The median across plans in aerospace and vehicle manufacturing is $112.59, from the 899 of 934 whose Form 5500 yields a per-participant cost.
Eaton Savings Plan on its Form 5500 filing: fees, providers and financials
How does Eaton's 401(k) match compare?
Eaton Corporation plc's maximum 401(k) match of 3% 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 aerospace and vehicle manufacturing, two land near Eaton's maximum match and one vests on the same schedule.
Maximum match 3% of pay. Also in aerospace and vehicle manufacturing.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Also in aerospace and vehicle manufacturing.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Also in aerospace and vehicle manufacturing.
Maximum match 3% of pay, level with Eaton.
Maximum match 3% of pay, level with Eaton.
Maximum match 6% of pay. Vests immediately too, like Eaton.
Compare Eaton Corporation plc with any company, side by side
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 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.
- Download this data (CSV)
Formula, vesting and source references for this company, one file.
Questions this filing answers
What is Eaton Corporation plc's 401(k) match?
Eaton Corporation plc matches 50% of employee contributions up to 6% of eligible pay (plan year ended December 31, 2025).
When does the Eaton Corporation plc 401(k) match vest?
Immediate: employer match is 100% vested when contributed.
Does Eaton Corporation plc's 401(k) plan have automatic enrollment?
Yes: default deferral 6% of pay.
Cite: 401(k) Monitor, “Eaton Corporation plc 401(k) plan facts”, from SEC Form 11-K accession 0001551182-26-000022, plan year ended 2025-12-31.