Intel Corporation 401(k) match: 5% max
Intel 401(k) Savings Plan · INTC · CIK 50863
Maximum employer match, as a share of pay
5%
Intel Corporation matches 100% (dollar-for-dollar) of the first 5% of pay.
From the Form 11-K filed June 12, 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 · what it used to be · when the money becomes yours · who can join · what the plan reports to the DOL · how it compares · what to do next
What Intel puts in, and what the plan costs
What Intel put into the plan, per active participant
$12,217
Intel Corporation put $12,217 into this plan for each of its 46,693 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.
Intel put in more per active participant than 98% of plans with 5,000+ participants in computers and electronics manufacturing. The middle plan in that group of 46 reported $4,837. Computers and electronics manufacturing comes from business code 334410, which Intel 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 Intel 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 941672743, plan 003 · DOL EFAST2 ↗
The $12,217 above is the Form 5500 figure for plan year 2024, and it counts every employer dollar on one line. Intel Corporation also files a Form 11-K, which states the match formula for plan year 2025: the card below reads $2,475 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 Intel puts in
$2,475
a year, at a $49,500 salary.
The match paragraph, word for word
“Eligible employees receive Company matching contributions with immediate eligibility. Effective January 1, 2024, the Company matching contribution was 100% of each eligible employee's eligible elective deferrals up to 7% of eligible compensation. For payroll periods with payment dates after December 31, 2024 the employer match contributions percentage is 100% of each eligible employee's eligible elective deferrals up to 5% of eligible compensation. The Company matching contribution will be trued-up each plan year to attain the appropriate allocation rate for the plan year as a whole.”
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 immediately 100% vested with respect to employee deferrals, Company matching contributions and related earnings.”
The match starts with the job. This is a filed term, and it does not move the score above.
Eligibility, word for word
“Eligible employees may participate in the Plan at any time on or after their date of hire. All employees who become eligible to participate are automatically enrolled in the Plan, unless they choose a different deferral rate or make an affirmative election not to participate.”
The plan tops the match up after year end, so contributing unevenly through the year does not cost the worker part of it.
The same match paragraph, word for word
“Eligible employees receive Company matching contributions with immediate eligibility. Effective January 1, 2024, the Company matching contribution was 100% of each eligible employee's eligible elective deferrals up to 7% of eligible compensation. For payroll periods with payment dates after December 31, 2024 the employer match contributions percentage is 100% of each eligible employee's eligible elective deferrals up to 5% of eligible compensation. The Company matching contribution will be trued-up each plan year to attain the appropriate allocation rate for the plan year as a whole.”
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
2nd percentile
$3.22 per participant in plan-paid administrative cost, cheaper than 98% of plans with 5,000+ participants.
What is Intel's 401(k) match formula?
Intel's 401(k) employer match tops out at 5% of pay. The plan pays an annual true-up. What an annual true-up repays is the arithmetic behind that line: it matters most in a year when contributions land unevenly.
| Match formula | 100% (dollar-for-dollar) of the first 5% of pay |
|---|---|
| Maximum employer match | 5% of compensation |
| True-upA year-end recalculation that repays match lost to uneven contributions. | Yes, annual true-up |
| Current formula effective | January 1, 2025 |
| Other employer contribution | Discretionary Intel Contributions (annual Company contribution to Discretionary Intel Contributions Accounts, discontinued for periods after January 1, 2020) |
At a $90,000 salary, contributing 5% ($4,500) earns the full employer match of $4,500 for the year.
What the filing says, word for word
“Eligible employees receive Company matching contributions with immediate eligibility. Effective January 1, 2024, the Company matching contribution was 100% of each eligible employee's eligible elective deferrals up to 7% of eligible compensation. For payroll periods with payment dates after December 31, 2024 the employer match contributions percentage is 100% of each eligible employee's eligible elective deferrals up to 5% of eligible compensation. The Company matching contribution will be trued-up each plan year to attain the appropriate allocation rate for the plan year as a whole.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 12, 2026, SEC EDGAR, corroborated by the filing's inline-XBRL facts · SEC ↗
What did Intel's 401(k) match used to be?
Intel changed its 401(k) match on January 1, 2025. The formula in force now is 100% (dollar-for-dollar) of the first 5% of pay.
| Since January 1, 2025 | 100% (dollar-for-dollar) of the first 5% of pay |
|---|---|
| Before | Effective January 1, 2024 the Company matching contribution was 100% of eligible elective deferrals up to 7% of eligible compensation; the 5% formula applies to payroll periods with payment dates after December 31, 2024 |
We keep a dated page for it: Intel cut its 401(k) match, effective January 1, 2025.
What is Intel's 401(k) vesting schedule?
Intel 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 | Discretionary Intel Contribution Account vests 0%/20%/40%/60%/80%/100% for fewer than 2 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 or more years of service; 100% vested at age 60, death while actively employed, total and permanent disability, and potentially upon job elimination or divestiture |
Vesting, word for word
“Participants are immediately 100% vested with respect to employee deferrals, Company matching contributions and related earnings.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 12, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
Who can join Intel's 401(k), and is enrollment automatic?
Intel enrolls new hires automatically at 5% of pay, rising 2% a year to 15% of pay.
| Plan entry | At any time on or after date of hire |
|---|---|
| Match eligibility | Immediate eligibility for Company matching contributions |
| Automatic enrollment | Yes: default deferral 5% of pay; 45-day opt-out window; auto-escalation +2%/yr to 15%; default investment: Appropriate Target Date Fund based on the participant's age |
Eligibility, word for word
“Eligible employees may participate in the Plan at any time on or after their date of hire. All employees who become eligible to participate are automatically enrolled in the Plan, unless they choose a different deferral rate or make an affirmative election not to participate.”
Automatic enrollment, word for word
“An employee who becomes an eligible participant is automatically enrolled in the Plan at 5% of eligible compensation as soon as administratively possible, following 45 days after becoming an eligible employee, unless the participant makes an affirmative election to not enroll in the Plan. The participant's automatic enrollment election of 5% will increase by 2%, effective the first payroll period ending on or after April 1 of the plan year following the plan year in which the eligible employee's automatic enrollment begins and each successive year until a maximum election of 15% pre-tax deferral is reached, subject to certain limitations.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 12, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
What does the Intel plan report on Form 5500?
The Intel plan reported $24.9B in assets and 83,261 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 | Intel 401(k) Savings Plan |
|---|---|
| Total plan assets | $24,850,880,304 |
| Participants | 83,261 |
| Recordkeeper | Fidelity Invest Inst Ops Co |
| Plan-paid admin cost per participant | $3.22 |
How that cost compares
This plan pays $3.22 per participant. The median across plans in computers and electronics manufacturing is $136.67, from the 597 of 644 whose Form 5500 yields a per-participant cost.
Intel 401(k) Savings Plan on its Form 5500 filing: fees, providers and financials
How does Intel's 401(k) match compare?
Intel Corporation's maximum 401(k) match of 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 computers and electronics manufacturing, two land near Intel's maximum match and one vests on the same schedule.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Also in computers and electronics manufacturing.
Maximum match 6% of pay. Also in computers and electronics manufacturing.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Also in computers and electronics manufacturing.
Maximum match 5% of pay, level with Intel.
Maximum match 5% of pay, level with Intel.
Maximum match 6% of pay. Vests immediately too, like Intel.
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 12, 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 Intel Corporation's 401(k) match?
Intel Corporation matches 100% of employee contributions up to 5% of eligible pay (plan year ended December 31, 2025).
When does the Intel Corporation 401(k) match vest?
Immediate: employer match is 100% vested when contributed.
Does Intel Corporation's 401(k) plan have automatic enrollment?
Yes: default deferral 5% of pay; 45-day opt-out window; auto-escalation +2%/yr to 15%; default investment: Appropriate Target Date Fund based on the participant's age.
Did Intel Corporation change its 401(k) match?
Yes. Effective January 1, 2024 the Company matching contribution was 100% of eligible elective deferrals up to 7% of eligible compensation; the 5% formula applies to payroll periods with payment dates after December 31, 2024 The current terms took effect January 1, 2025.
Cite: 401(k) Monitor, “Intel Corporation 401(k) plan facts”, from SEC Form 11-K accession 0000050863-26-000142, plan year ended 2025-12-31.