Johnson & Johnson 401(k) match: 4.5% max
Johnson & Johnson Savings Plan · JNJ · CIK 200406
Maximum employer match, as a share of pay
4.5%
Johnson & Johnson matches 75% of the first 6% of pay.
Johnson & Johnson filed two Form 11-K reports for plan year 2025, of which one has been read. The other report has not, so this page cannot say what the plan it covers pays.
From the Form 11-K filed June 25, 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 Johnson & Johnson puts in, and what the plan costs
What Johnson & Johnson put into the plan, per active participant
$6,192
Johnson & Johnson put $6,192 into this plan for each of its 44,280 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.
Johnson & Johnson put in more per active participant than 73% of plans with 5,000+ participants in medical devices and other manufacturing. The middle plan in that group of 81 reported $4,432. Medical devices and other manufacturing comes from business code 339900, which Johnson & Johnson 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 Johnson & Johnson 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 221024240, plan 100 · DOL EFAST2 ↗
The $6,192 above is the Form 5500 figure for plan year 2024, and it counts every employer dollar on one line. Johnson & Johnson 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. 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 Johnson & Johnson puts in
$2,228
a year, at a $49,500 salary.
The match paragraph, word for word
“Prior to January 1, 2025, participants received a Company matching contribution equal to 75% of the first 6% of a participant’s contributions. Effective January 1, 2025, participants receive a Company matching contribution equal to 75% of the first 6% pre-tax and Roth contributions. The Company matching contributions are made every payroll period. Effective January 1, 2025, following each Plan year, the Company will make a “true-up” matching contribution calculated under the same formula as the payroll period match but determined on an annual basis and reduced by the payroll period matching contributions received by the participant during the year. The Company matching contribution is comprised of cash and invested in the current investment fund mix chosen by the participant.”
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
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
“A participant's contributions (pre-tax, after-tax, Roth and rollover) and the earnings on them are always fully vested. For the Company matching contributions, if a participant was hired before March 1, 2017, the Company matching contributions were made to the participant's account after a one-year eligibility period was satisfied. These contributions and the associated earnings are fully vested. If a participant was hired on or after March 1, 2017, the Company matching contributions made to the participant's account, and the earnings on these contributions, become vested after the participant has completed a three-year period of service. These contributions become vested if, while employed by the Company, the participant should die, become disabled, or reach age 55.”
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
“Prior to January 1, 2025, participants received a Company matching contribution equal to 75% of the first 6% of a participant’s contributions. Effective January 1, 2025, participants receive a Company matching contribution equal to 75% of the first 6% pre-tax and Roth contributions. The Company matching contributions are made every payroll period. Effective January 1, 2025, following each Plan year, the Company will make a “true-up” matching contribution calculated under the same formula as the payroll period match but determined on an annual basis and reduced by the payroll period matching contributions received by the participant during the year. The Company matching contribution is comprised of cash and invested in the current investment fund mix chosen by 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
100th percentile
$577.58 per participant in plan-paid administrative cost, more expensive than 100% of plans with 5,000+ participants.
What is Johnson & Johnson's 401(k) match formula?
Johnson & Johnson's 401(k) employer match tops out at 4.5% of pay. The match is deposited each payroll and 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 | 75% of the first 6% of pay |
|---|---|
| Maximum employer match | 4.5% of compensation |
| True-upA year-end recalculation that repays match lost to uneven contributions. | Yes, annual true-up |
| Deposited | Each payroll |
| Paid in company stock | No, paid in cash or per your investment elections |
| Conditions | Catch-up contributions are not eligible for the Company matching contribution |
| Current formula effective | January 1, 2025 |
At a $75,000 salary, contributing 6% ($4,500) earns the full employer match of $3,375 for the year.
What the filing says, word for word
“Prior to January 1, 2025, participants received a Company matching contribution equal to 75% of the first 6% of a participant’s contributions. Effective January 1, 2025, participants receive a Company matching contribution equal to 75% of the first 6% pre-tax and Roth contributions. The Company matching contributions are made every payroll period. Effective January 1, 2025, following each Plan year, the Company will make a “true-up” matching contribution calculated under the same formula as the payroll period match but determined on an annual basis and reduced by the payroll period matching contributions received by the participant during the year. The Company matching contribution is comprised of cash and invested in the current investment fund mix chosen by the participant.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 25, 2026, SEC EDGAR, corroborated by the filing's inline-XBRL facts · SEC ↗
What did Johnson & Johnson's 401(k) match used to be?
Johnson & Johnson changed its 401(k) match on January 1, 2025. The formula in force now is 75% of the first 6% of pay.
| Since January 1, 2025 | 75% of the first 6% of pay |
|---|---|
| Before | Prior to January 1, 2025 the Company matching contribution was 75% of the first 6% of a participant's contributions of any type; effective January 1, 2025 the match applies to the first 6% of pre-tax and Roth contributions only |
What is Johnson & Johnson's 401(k) vesting schedule?
Johnson & Johnson 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 |
| Accelerated vesting | Full vesting upon death, disability, or reaching age 55 while employed; participants hired before March 1, 2017 are fully vested in Company matching contributions |
Vesting, word for word
“A participant's contributions (pre-tax, after-tax, Roth and rollover) and the earnings on them are always fully vested. For the Company matching contributions, if a participant was hired before March 1, 2017, the Company matching contributions were made to the participant's account after a one-year eligibility period was satisfied. These contributions and the associated earnings are fully vested. If a participant was hired on or after March 1, 2017, the Company matching contributions made to the participant's account, and the earnings on these contributions, become vested after the participant has completed a three-year period of service. These contributions become vested if, while employed by the Company, the participant should die, become disabled, or reach age 55.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 25, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
Who can join Johnson & Johnson's 401(k), and is enrollment automatic?
Johnson & Johnson enrolls new hires automatically at 6% of pay.
| Plan entry | Full-time salaried employees and certain hourly, part-time and temporary employees; no service requirement for employee contributions |
|---|---|
| Automatic enrollment | Yes: default deferral 6% of pay; 30-day opt-out window; default investment: Target Retirement Fund that aligns with, or is closest to, the year in which the participant will turn age 62 |
Eligibility, word for word
“In general, full-time salaried employees and certain hourly, part-time and temporary employees can contribute to the Plan. There is no service requirement for employee contributions.”
Automatic enrollment, word for word
“If a participant does not take action to enroll or declines enrollment in the Plan within their first 30 days of employment, they will be automatically enrolled for pre-tax employee contributions equal to 6% of their eligible pay and these contributions will be invested in the Plan's default investment option. The Plan's default investment option is the Target Retirement Fund that aligns with, or is closest to, the year in which the participant will turn age 62.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 25, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
What does the Johnson & Johnson plan report on Form 5500?
The Johnson & Johnson plan reported $23.6B in assets and 72,991 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 | Johnson And Johnson Savings Plan |
|---|---|
| Total plan assets | $23,584,765,150 |
| Participants | 72,991 |
| Recordkeeper | Alight Solutions (Recordkeeper); The Northern Trust Company (Trustee Effective October 1, 2025; Previously State Street Bank And Trust Company) |
| Plan-paid admin cost per participant | $577.58 |
How that cost compares
This plan pays $577.58 per participant. The median across plans in medical devices and other manufacturing is $125.72, from the 1,386 of 1,455 whose Form 5500 yields a per-participant cost.
Johnson And Johnson Savings Plan on its Form 5500 filing: fees, providers and financials
How does Johnson & Johnson's 401(k) match compare?
Johnson & Johnson'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 medical devices and other manufacturing, two land near Johnson & Johnson's maximum match and one vests on the same schedule.
Maximum match 4.5% of pay. Also in medical devices and other manufacturing.
Maximum match 5% of pay. Also in medical devices and other manufacturing.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Also in medical devices and other manufacturing.
Maximum match 4.5% of pay, level with Johnson & Johnson.
Maximum match 4.5% of pay, level with Johnson & Johnson.
Maximum match 10% of pay. Same 3-year cliff as Johnson & Johnson.
What can you do next?
Check your own balance and contribution rate at Alight ↗, the recordkeeper this plan reports.
- Read the Form 11-K on SEC EDGAR ↗
Form 11-K filed June 25, 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 Johnson & Johnson's 401(k) match?
Johnson & Johnson matches 75% of employee contributions up to 6% of eligible pay (plan year ended December 31, 2025).
When does the Johnson & Johnson 401(k) match vest?
Cliff: 100% vested after 3 years of service.
Does Johnson & Johnson's 401(k) plan have automatic enrollment?
Yes: default deferral 6% of pay; 30-day opt-out window; default investment: Target Retirement Fund that aligns with, or is closest to, the year in which the participant will turn age 62.
Did Johnson & Johnson change its 401(k) match?
Yes. Prior to January 1, 2025 the Company matching contribution was 75% of the first 6% of a participant's contributions of any type; effective January 1, 2025 the match applies to the first 6% of pre-tax and Roth contributions only The current terms took effect January 1, 2025.
Cite: 401(k) Monitor, “Johnson & Johnson 401(k) plan facts”, from SEC Form 11-K accession 0000200406-26-000135, plan year ended 2025-12-31.