Ford Motor Company 401(k) match: 4.5% max
Ford Motor Company Savings and Stock Investment Plan · F · CIK 37996
Maximum employer match, as a share of pay
4.5%
Ford Motor Company matches 90% of the first 5% of pay.
Ford Motor's Form 11-K filings for plan year 2025 describe two separate 401(k) plans. The terms on this page are read from the Ford Motor Company Savings and Stock Investment 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 5, 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 · what the plan reports to the DOL · how it compares · what to do next
Which Ford Motor 401(k) plan are you in?
Ford Motor's Form 11-K filings for this plan year describe two 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 Ford Motor Company Savings and Stock Investment Plan.
Ford Motor Company Savings and Stock 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
Ford Motor Company Tax-Efficient Savings Plan for Hourly Employees
Hourly employees · Form 11-K ↗
Match not stated as a formula
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 Ford Motor puts in, and what the plan costs
What Ford Motor put into the plan, per active participant
$9,154
Ford Motor Company put $9,154 into this plan for each of its 34,102 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.
Ford Motor put in more per active participant than 87% 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 336100, which Ford Motor 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 Ford Motor 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 380549190, plan 010 · DOL EFAST2 ↗
The $9,154 above is the Form 5500 figure for plan year 2024, and it counts every employer dollar on one line. Ford Motor 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 Ford Motor puts in
$2,228
a year, at a $49,500 salary.
The match paragraph, word for word
“For salaried employees, the Company makes discretionary matching contributions (“Company matching contributions”) at a rate of $0.90 for each dollar contributed up to 5 percent of participants’ base salary (as defined). For certain hourly employees, the Company makes discretionary matching contributions (“Company matching contributions”) at a rate of $1.00 for each dollar contributed up to 5 percent of participants’ base salary deferred and an additional contribution of 5 percent of their salary.”
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
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%, 0%, 0%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%. The score is the average of those 7 readings.
Vesting, word for word
“Participants are fully vested in account balances related to their pre-tax, Roth, and after-tax contributions and earnings thereon. Pre-tax assets, Roth assets, after-tax assets, and assets resulting from Company matching contributions, FRP Contributions, and HRP Contributions are accounted for separately. Company matching contributions, FRP Contributions, and HRP Contributions vest three years after the original date of hire. At that time, all assets attributable to Company matching contributions, FRP Contributions, and HRP Contributions held in participants’ accounts become vested, and all future contributions vest when they are made.”
The match starts with the job. This is a filed term, and it does not move the score above.
Eligibility, word for word
“Eligibility – Regular full-time salaried employees and certain hourly employees are eligible to participate in the Plan immediately following their date of hire or rehire, and, are immediately eligible for any applicable Company matching contributions. Certain other part-time and temporary employees also may be eligible to participate in the Plan.”
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
Not reported
The Form 5500 filing does not report the plan-paid administrative expenses this figure needs.
What is Ford Motor's 401(k) match formula?
Ford Motor's 401(k) employer match tops out at 4.5% of pay. One rate up to one limit is the commonest of the four shapes a match formula takes.
| Match formula | 90% of the first 5% of pay |
|---|---|
| Maximum employer match | 4.5% of compensation |
| Conditions | Matching contributions are described as discretionary. For certain hourly employees the match is $1.00 for each dollar contributed up to 5 percent of base salary deferred, plus an additional Company contribution of 5 percent of salary |
| Other employer contribution | FRP Contributions: non-elective Company contributions for eligible participants hired or re-hired on or after January 1, 2004, at age-based rates of 3.5% (under age 40), 4.5% (age 40 through 49), and 5.5% (age 50+) of base salary |
| Other employer contribution | Certain hourly employees receive an additional Company contribution of 5 percent of their salary |
At a $45,000 salary, contributing 5% ($2,250) earns the full employer match of $2,025 for the year.
What the filing says, word for word
“For salaried employees, the Company makes discretionary matching contributions (“Company matching contributions”) at a rate of $0.90 for each dollar contributed up to 5 percent of participants’ base salary (as defined). For certain hourly employees, the Company makes discretionary matching contributions (“Company matching contributions”) at a rate of $1.00 for each dollar contributed up to 5 percent of participants’ base salary deferred and an additional contribution of 5 percent of their salary.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 5, 2026, SEC EDGAR, corroborated by the filing's inline-XBRL facts · SEC ↗
What is Ford Motor's 401(k) vesting schedule?
Ford Motor 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 |
| Year of service | Vesting is measured from the original date of hire (contributions vest three years after the original date of hire) |
| Other employer contributions | FRP Contributions and HRP Contributions vest three years after the original date of hire |
Vesting, word for word
“Participants are fully vested in account balances related to their pre-tax, Roth, and after-tax contributions and earnings thereon. Pre-tax assets, Roth assets, after-tax assets, and assets resulting from Company matching contributions, FRP Contributions, and HRP Contributions are accounted for separately. Company matching contributions, FRP Contributions, and HRP Contributions vest three years after the original date of hire. At that time, all assets attributable to Company matching contributions, FRP Contributions, and HRP Contributions held in participants’ accounts become vested, and all future contributions vest when they are made.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 5, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
Who can join Ford Motor's 401(k), and is enrollment automatic?
Ford Motor enrolls new hires automatically at 5% of pay, rising 1% a year to 10% of pay.
| Plan entry | Regular full-time salaried employees and certain hourly employees are eligible to participate immediately following their date of hire or rehire; certain other part-time and temporary employees also may be eligible |
|---|---|
| Match eligibility | Eligible employees are immediately eligible for any applicable Company matching contributions |
| Automatic enrollment | Yes: default deferral 5% of pay; auto-escalation +1%/yr to 10%; default investment: Target date fund, a qualified default investment alternative (QDIA) |
Eligibility, word for word
“Eligibility – Regular full-time salaried employees and certain hourly employees are eligible to participate in the Plan immediately following their date of hire or rehire, and, are immediately eligible for any applicable Company matching contributions. Certain other part-time and temporary employees also may be eligible to participate in the Plan.”
Automatic enrollment, word for word
“Newly hired employees are automatically enrolled in the Plan at an initial contribution rate of 5 percent of their base salary, though they may elect to cancel or change their automatic enrollment rate.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 5, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
What does the Ford Motor plan report on Form 5500?
The Ford Motor plan reported $17.3B in assets and 52,244 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 | Ford Motor Co. Savings And Stock Investment Plan For Salaried Employees |
|---|---|
| Total plan assets | $17,268,935,890 |
| Participants | 52,244 |
| Recordkeeper | State Street Bank And Trust Company (Trustee And Disbursement Agent); The Northern Trust Company (Custodian Of The Interest Income Fund) |
How that cost compares
It is one of 934 plans in aerospace and vehicle manufacturing in the Form 5500 data we publish.
How does Ford Motor's 401(k) match compare?
Ford Motor Company's maximum 401(k) match of 4.5% 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 Ford Motor's maximum match and one vests on the same schedule.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Also in aerospace and vehicle manufacturing.
Maximum match 5% of pay. Also in aerospace and vehicle manufacturing.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Also in aerospace and vehicle manufacturing.
Maximum match 4.5% of pay, level with Ford Motor.
Maximum match 4.5% of pay, level with Ford Motor.
Maximum match 6% of pay. Same 3-year cliff as Ford Motor.
What do Ford Motor's other 401(k) plans say?
Ford Motor Company Tax-Efficient Savings Plan for Hourly Employees
Hourly employees
Ford Motor Company's filing discloses no employer matching contribution for this plan (plan year ended December 31, 2025).
- Employer match vesting
- Not disclosed in the filing
- Automatic enrollment
- Yes: default deferral 3% of pay; auto-escalation +1%/yr to 10%; default investment: In the absence of participant investment directions, contributions are invested in a target-date fund, a qualified default investment alternative (QDIA)
What the filing says, word for word
“Certain (as defined) employees hired or rehired beginning November 19, 2007 may be immediately eligible to receive Supplemental Contributions and/or Retirement Contributions (collectively, “Company Contributions”). Eligible employees receive Supplemental Contributions of $1.00 for every eligible compensated hour up to 40 hours per week. Eligible employees receive Retirement Contributions of 6.4 percent of eligible wages up to 40 hours per week through October 22, 2023 and 10.0 percent thereafter. Employees become 100 percent vested in their Company Contributions three years from their original hire date.”
What can you do next?
- Read the Form 11-K on SEC EDGAR ↗
Form 11-K filed June 5, 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 Ford Motor Company's 401(k) match?
Ford Motor Company matches 90% of employee contributions up to 5% of eligible pay (plan year ended December 31, 2025).
When does the Ford Motor Company 401(k) match vest?
Cliff: 100% vested after 3 years of service.
Does Ford Motor Company's 401(k) plan have automatic enrollment?
Yes: default deferral 5% of pay; auto-escalation +1%/yr to 10%; default investment: Target date fund, a qualified default investment alternative (QDIA).
Cite: 401(k) Monitor, “Ford Motor Company 401(k) plan facts”, from SEC Form 11-K accession 0001104659-26-070993, plan year ended 2025-12-31.