Hormel Foods Corporation 401(k): Empower, match fully vested after 5 years
Capital Accumulation Plan · HRL · CIK 48465
Empower is the recordkeeper named on the Form 5500 filed for Hormel Foods Corporation Tax Deferred Investment Plan A *, the company that keeps the account records. Where to log in, and what the filing says.
Matched to this employer by sponsor name, not by an identifier stated in the filing.
The 401(k) employer match
Only part of the formula is filed
Hormel Foods Corporation discloses only part of its 401(k) match terms in this filing.
Hormel Foods' Form 11-K filings for plan year 2025 describe four separate 401(k) plans. The terms on this page are read from the Capital Accumulation 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 9, 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 Hormel Foods 401(k) plan are you in?
Hormel Foods' Form 11-K filings for this plan year describe four 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 Capital Accumulation Plan.
Capital Accumulation Plan (the plan this page answers for)
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers · Form 11-K ↗
Match not stated as a formula
Hormel Foods Corporation Tax Deferred Investment Plan A
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers · Form 11-K ↗
4% of pay, at most
Hormel Foods Corporation Tax Deferred Investment Plan B
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers · Form 11-K ↗
Match not stated as a formula
Jennie-O Turkey Store Retirement Savings Plan
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers · Form 11-K ↗
1% of pay, at most
One row per plan, taken from the four 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 Hormel Foods puts in, and what the plan costs
What Hormel Foods put into the plan, per active participant
$4,149
Hormel Foods Corporation put $4,149 into this plan for each of its 4,987 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.
Hormel Foods put in more per active participant than 66% of plans with 5,000+ participants in food, beverage and tobacco manufacturing. The middle plan in that group of 72 reported $2,804. Food, beverage and tobacco comes from business code 311610, which Hormel Foods 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 Hormel Foods 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 410319970, plan 050 · DOL EFAST2 ↗
What Hormel Foods 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 Hormel Foods 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 Empower ↗.
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%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100%, 100%. The score is the average of those 7 readings.
Vesting, word for word
“Vesting - Participant contributions are fully vested immediately. Participants generally become 100% vested after five years of vesting service (20% per year) in the employer matching contributions and fixed incentive contributions.”
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
54th percentile
$59.26 per participant in plan-paid administrative cost, more expensive than 54% of plans with 5,000+ participants.
What is Hormel Foods' 401(k) match formula?
Hormel Foods discloses only part of its 401(k) match terms in this filing. Filings state some formulas in full and others not at all. The four shapes a formula takes shows what is missing here.
| Conditions | The filing states only that the employer provides matching contributions and that these contributions vary according to employee classification and employer; no rate or formula is disclosed |
|---|---|
| Other employer contribution | Fixed incentive contributions that vary according to employee classification and employer |
What the filing says, word for word
“The employer provides matching contributions and fixed incentive contributions. These contributions vary according to employee classification and employer.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 9, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
What is Hormel Foods' 401(k) vesting schedule?
Hormel Foods vests the employer match on a graded schedule: 20% after one year, rising to 100% after five. Each step is money that leaves with you that year, which is how a graded schedule differs from a cliff.
| Employer match vesting | Graded: 20% at 1 yr, 40% at 2 yr, 60% at 3 yr, 80% at 4 yr, 100% at 5 yr |
|---|---|
| Your own contributions | Immediate: always 100% yours |
| Other employer contributions | Fixed incentive contributions vest on the same five-year graded basis (20% per year) as matching contributions |
Vesting, word for word
“Vesting - Participant contributions are fully vested immediately. Participants generally become 100% vested after five years of vesting service (20% per year) in the employer matching contributions and fixed incentive contributions.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 9, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
Who can join Hormel Foods' 401(k), and is enrollment automatic?
Hormel Foods enrolls new hires automatically at 2% of pay, rising 1% a year.
| Plan entry | Certain non-exempt hourly employees of Rochelle Foods, LLC and twelve other participating Hormel subsidiaries; employees in recognized employment become participants immediately or upon completing six months and 500 hours of eligibility service, depending on participating employer |
|---|---|
| Automatic enrollment | Yes: default deferral 2% of pay; auto-escalation +1%/yr |
Eligibility, word for word
“General - The Plan, sponsored by Rochelle Foods, LLC, is a defined contribution plan covering certain non-exempt hourly employees of Rochelle Foods, LLC; Creative Contract Packaging, LLC; Osceola Food, LLC; Burke Marketing Corporation; Provena Foods, Inc.; Lloyd’s Barbeque Company, LLC; Progressive Processing, LLC; Skippy Foods, LLC; Fontanini Foods, LLC; Columbus Manufacturing, Inc.; Alma Foods, LLC; Sadler's Smokehouse, LLC and Hormel Foods Operations, LLC. The Plan is subject to the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). During the plan year ended December 31, 2024, the following amendments were made to the Plan's participating employers: •Effective October 18, 2024, the closing date of the divestiture, Hormel Health Labs, LLC ceased being a participating employer in the Plan. Participants employed by Hormel Health Labs, LLC as of the closing date of the sale were fully vested in the participant's account under the plan. •Effective November 18, 2024, the closing date of the divestiture, Mountain Prairie, LLC ceased being a participating employer in the Plan. Participants employed by Mountain Prairie, LLC as of the closing date of the sale were fully vested in the participant's account under the plan. Eligibility - Employees in recognized employment, as defined by the Plan, become participants immediately or upon completing six months and 500 hours of eligibility service, depending on participating employer.”
Automatic enrollment, word for word
“Contributions - Employees who elect to contribute to the Plan can authorize a deduction of 1% to 50% of their pre-tax and/or after tax compensation, subject to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) limitations. Eligible employees who have not enrolled shall be deemed to have automatically elected to contribute 2% of their pre-tax compensation to the Plan through payroll deductions. Participants automatically enrolled will have their contribution percentage increased by 1% each year up to a maximum of either 4% or 6% of eligible compensation. Participants receive advance notice of their right to elect out of both of these automatic plan features and are permitted to stop or change either feature at any time.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 9, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
Who holds your account
Schedule C of the Form 5500 filed for plan year 2024 reports Empower, filed as “EMPOWER ANNUITY INSURANCE COMPANY”. 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.
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. The Form 5500 read here was filed for Hormel Foods Corporation Tax Deferred Investment Plan A *.
7,876 plans on file name Empower as their recordkeeper. Of those, the 7,813 with a computable fee have a median plan-paid cost of $165.72 per participant.
Participants log in at Empower ↗. 401(k) Monitor is not affiliated with Empower or with any other recordkeeper, and takes nothing for this link. It is here because that is where the account is.
| Recordkeeper | Empower |
|---|---|
| Recordkeeper EIN | 840467907 |
What does the Hormel Foods plan report on Form 5500?
The Hormel Foods plan reported $1.2B in assets and 7,305 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 | Hormel Foods Corporation Tax Deferred Investment Plan A * |
|---|---|
| Total plan assets | $1,160,623,275 |
| Participants | 7,305 |
| Plan-paid admin cost per participant | $59.26 |
How that cost compares
This plan pays $59.26 per participant. The median across plans in food, beverage and tobacco manufacturing is $108.05, from the 1,292 of 1,356 whose Form 5500 yields a per-participant cost.
How does Hormel Foods' 401(k) match compare?
Hormel Foods Corporation'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 food, beverage and tobacco manufacturing, two report the same recordkeeper and one vests on the same schedule.
No employer match in the filing. Also in food, beverage and tobacco manufacturing.
No match; the employer contributes on its own. Also in food, beverage and tobacco manufacturing.
Maximum match 6% of pay. Also in food, beverage and tobacco manufacturing.
Employer match vests immediately. Same recordkeeper, Empower.
Maximum match 9.3% of pay. Same recordkeeper, Empower.
Maximum match 5% of pay. Also fully vested after 5 years, like Hormel Foods.
Compare Hormel Foods Corporation with any company, side by side
What do Hormel Foods' other 401(k) plans say?
Hormel Foods Corporation Tax Deferred Investment Plan A
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers
Hormel Foods Corporation 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).
- Employer match vesting
- Immediate: employer match is 100% vested when contributed
- Automatic enrollment
- Yes: default deferral 5% of pay; auto-escalation +1%/yr to 15%
What the filing says, word for word
“The Company provides a matching contribution of 100% of the first 3% plus 50% of the next 2% of each participant’s eligible compensation deferred to the Plan. Certain eligible participants receive an employer discretionary award according to the terms of the Plan.”
Hormel Foods Corporation Tax Deferred Investment Plan B
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers
Hormel Foods Corp /De/ discloses only part of its match terms in the 11-K for the plan year ended December 31, 2025.
- Employer match vesting
- Not disclosed in the filing
- Automatic enrollment
- Yes: default deferral 2% of pay; auto-escalation +1%/yr
What the filing says, word for word
“The employer provides matching contributions, discretionary employer contributions and employer fixed contributions. These contributions vary according to employee classification and employer.”
Jennie-O Turkey Store Retirement Savings Plan
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers
Hormel Foods Corp /De/ matches 50% of employee contributions up to 2% of eligible pay (plan year ended December 31, 2025).
- Employer match vesting
- Cliff: 100% vested after 3 years of service
- Automatic enrollment
- Yes: default deferral 2% of pay; auto-escalation +1%/yr to 5%
What the filing says, word for word
“The Company provides a matching contribution equal to 50% of the first 2% of pay contributed for the pay period. The Company’s fixed contribution to the Plan is an amount equal to 4% of the eligible employee’s earnings each pay period.”
What can you do next?
- Read the Form 11-K on SEC EDGAR ↗
Form 11-K filed June 9, 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 Hormel Foods Corporation's 401(k) match?
Hormel Foods Corp /De/ discloses only part of its match terms in the 11-K for the plan year ended December 31, 2025. Hormel Foods Corporation's Form 5500 for plan year 2024 reports $4,149 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. 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.
When does the Hormel Foods Corporation 401(k) match vest?
Graded: 20% at 1 yr, 40% at 2 yr, 60% at 3 yr, 80% at 4 yr, 100% at 5 yr.
Does Hormel Foods Corporation's 401(k) plan have automatic enrollment?
Yes: default deferral 2% of pay; auto-escalation +1%/yr.
Who is the recordkeeper for Hormel Foods Corporation's 401(k)?
Empower is named as the recordkeeper on the Form 5500 filed for Hormel Foods Corporation Tax Deferred Investment Plan A * 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. 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.
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 Hormel Foods Corporation 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 | Hormel Foods Corporation |
| SEC CIK | 48465 |
| Accession number | 0000048465-26-000036 |
| Plan | Capital Accumulation Plan |
| Period of report | December 31, 2025 |
| Filed | June 9, 2026 |
401(k) Monitor is not affiliated with Hormel Foods Corporation, 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, “Hormel Foods Corporation 401(k) plan facts”, from SEC Form 11-K accession 0000048465-26-000036, plan year ended December 31, 2025.
