The Sherwin-Williams Company 401(k) match: 6% max
The Sherwin-Williams Company 401(k) Plan · SHW · CIK 89800
Maximum employer match, as a share of pay
6%
The Sherwin-Williams Company matches 100% (dollar-for-dollar) of the first 6% of pay.
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 · when the money becomes yours · who can join · what the plan reports to the DOL · how it compares · what to do next
What Sherwin-Williams puts in, and what the plan costs
What Sherwin-Williams put into the plan, per active participant
$3,387
The Sherwin-Williams Company put $3,387 into this plan for each of its 47,319 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.
Sherwin-Williams put in less per active participant than 92% of plans with 5,000+ participants in pharmaceuticals and chemicals. The middle plan in that group of 63 reported $8,101. Pharmaceuticals and chemicals comes from business code 325500, which Sherwin-Williams 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 Sherwin-Williams 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 340526850, plan 001 · DOL EFAST2 ↗
The $3,387 above is the Form 5500 figure for plan year 2024, and it counts every employer dollar on one line. The Sherwin-Williams Company also files a Form 11-K, which states the match formula for plan year 2025: the card below reads $2,970 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 Sherwin-Williams puts in
$2,970
a year, at a $49,500 salary.
The match paragraph, word for word
“The Company makes matching contributions of 100% on the first 6% of eligible employee contributions beginning the quarter following the employees' one-year anniversary with the Company. In addition to the matching contribution, the Company may elect to make discretionary contributions. Participants direct the investment of Company contributions into various investment options offered by the Plan. In the absence of participant direction, Company contributions are directed to Company common stock. Effective October 1, 2025, the Company temporarily paused the Company's matching contributions under the Plan for eligible employees.”
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
“Participant contributions to the Plan are 100% vested. Participants hired or rehired prior to January 1, 2017 are 100% vested in Company contributions. Participants hired or rehired on or after January 1, 2017 are 100% vested in Company contributions after completing three years of vesting service. The vesting service period begins at a participant's hire or adjusted service date. There is no partial vesting. Participants that leave the Company before completing three years of vesting service forfeit all Company contributions made on their behalf.”
A worker hired today collects no match for 1 year. This is a filed term, and it does not move the score above.
Eligibility, word for word
“Any salaried employee of The Sherwin-Williams Company (the Company) or participating subsidiary and any employee in a group of employees to which coverage has been extended on a non-discriminatory basis by the Administration Committee is eligible for membership in the Plan provided the employee: (a) is a full-time or part-time employee of the Company or a subsidiary of the Company which has adopted the Plan; (b) is not a member of a collective bargaining unit which was recognized by the Company on the date coverage under the Plan is extended to the work group, division or subsidiary of the employee, unless and until such eligibility shall be extended to members of such collective bargaining unit by negotiations between an employer and the bargaining agent, and is not a member of a collective bargaining unit which is first recognized by an employer after the date coverage under the Plan is extended to the work group, division or subsidiary of the employee where such collective bargaining unit through its representative has agreed with an employer that the members of such collective bargaining unit shall no longer be eligible for membership in the Plan; and (c) is employed in the United States or is a United States citizen if not employed therein.”
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
36th percentile
$41.66 per participant in plan-paid administrative cost, cheaper than 64% of plans with 5,000+ participants.
What is Sherwin-Williams' 401(k) match formula?
Sherwin-Williams' 401(k) employer match tops out at 6% of pay. One rate up to one limit is the commonest of the four shapes a match formula takes.
| Match formula | 100% (dollar-for-dollar) of the first 6% of pay |
|---|---|
| Maximum employer match | 6% of compensation |
| Paid in company stock | No, paid in cash or per your investment elections |
| Conditions | Matching contributions were temporarily paused effective October 1, 2025 and reinstated effective February 1, 2026; a discretionary make-up contribution of approximately $36 million accrued during 2025 for the pause period was contributed to eligible participants on March 30, 2026 |
| Other employer contribution | In addition to the matching contribution, the Company may elect to make discretionary contributions |
At a $45,000 salary, contributing 6% ($2,700) earns the full employer match of $2,700 for the year.
Sherwin-Williams appears in our match-change tracker. We keep a dated page for each: Sherwin-Williams reinstated its 401(k) match, effective February 1, 2026, and Sherwin-Williams paused its 401(k) match, effective October 1, 2025.
What the filing says, word for word
“The Company makes matching contributions of 100% on the first 6% of eligible employee contributions beginning the quarter following the employees' one-year anniversary with the Company. In addition to the matching contribution, the Company may elect to make discretionary contributions. Participants direct the investment of Company contributions into various investment options offered by the Plan. In the absence of participant direction, Company contributions are directed to Company common stock. Effective October 1, 2025, the Company temporarily paused the Company's matching contributions under the Plan for eligible employees.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 25, 2026, SEC EDGAR, corroborated by the filing's inline-XBRL facts · SEC ↗
What is Sherwin-Williams' 401(k) vesting schedule?
Sherwin-Williams 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 | The vesting service period begins at a participant's hire or adjusted service date; there is no partial vesting |
| Accelerated vesting | Participants hired or rehired prior to January 1, 2017 are 100% vested in Company contributions; in the event of Plan termination, participants would become 100% vested |
Vesting, word for word
“Participant contributions to the Plan are 100% vested. Participants hired or rehired prior to January 1, 2017 are 100% vested in Company contributions. Participants hired or rehired on or after January 1, 2017 are 100% vested in Company contributions after completing three years of vesting service. The vesting service period begins at a participant's hire or adjusted service date. There is no partial vesting. Participants that leave the Company before completing three years of vesting service forfeit all Company contributions made on their behalf.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 25, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
Who can join Sherwin-Williams' 401(k), and is enrollment automatic?
Sherwin-Williams enrolls new hires automatically at 3% of pay, rising 1% a year to 10% of pay.
| Plan entry | Any salaried employee (full-time or part-time) of the Company or a participating subsidiary, and any employee in a group to which coverage has been extended by the Administration Committee |
|---|---|
| Match eligibility | Matching contributions begin the quarter following the employee's one-year anniversary with the Company |
| Excluded groups | Members of collective bargaining units (unless eligibility is extended by negotiation) and employees not employed in the United States who are not United States citizens |
| Automatic enrollment | Yes: default deferral 3% of pay; auto-escalation +1%/yr to 10%; default investment: Age-appropriate T. Rowe Price target date retirement fund (employee contributions); Company common stock (Company contributions) in the absence of participant direction |
Eligibility, word for word
“Any salaried employee of The Sherwin-Williams Company (the Company) or participating subsidiary and any employee in a group of employees to which coverage has been extended on a non-discriminatory basis by the Administration Committee is eligible for membership in the Plan provided the employee: (a) is a full-time or part-time employee of the Company or a subsidiary of the Company which has adopted the Plan; (b) is not a member of a collective bargaining unit which was recognized by the Company on the date coverage under the Plan is extended to the work group, division or subsidiary of the employee, unless and until such eligibility shall be extended to members of such collective bargaining unit by negotiations between an employer and the bargaining agent, and is not a member of a collective bargaining unit which is first recognized by an employer after the date coverage under the Plan is extended to the work group, division or subsidiary of the employee where such collective bargaining unit through its representative has agreed with an employer that the members of such collective bargaining unit shall no longer be eligible for membership in the Plan; and (c) is employed in the United States or is a United States citizen if not employed therein.”
Automatic enrollment, word for word
“Eligible employees hired or rehired by the Company are automatically enrolled in the Plan. Employee contributions are established at 3% of pre-tax earnings. Eligible new hires may change the pre-selected enrollment option, including all or a portion of the contribution source to post-tax earnings or choose not to participate in the Plan prior to being automatically enrolled. If new hires choose not to change the automatic enrollment employee contribution level of 3%, the employee contribution level will increase at the beginning of each subsequent plan year by 1%, until either the employee individually changes the employee contribution level or the employee contribution level reaches the maximum automatic employee contribution level. The maximum automatic employee contribution level is 10%.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 25, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
What does the Sherwin-Williams plan report on Form 5500?
The Sherwin-Williams plan reported $10.6B in assets and 63,424 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 | The Sherwin-Williams Company 401(k) Plan |
|---|---|
| Total plan assets | $10,563,559,628 |
| Participants | 63,424 |
| Recordkeeper | Fidelity Inv Inst Ops Co, Inc. |
| Plan-paid admin cost per participant | $41.66 |
How that cost compares
This plan pays $41.66 per participant. The median across plans in pharmaceuticals and chemicals is $128.47, from the 870 of 942 whose Form 5500 yields a per-participant cost.
The Sherwin-Williams Company 401(k) Plan on its Form 5500 filing: fees, providers and financials
How does Sherwin-Williams' 401(k) match compare?
The Sherwin-Williams Company's maximum 401(k) match of 6% 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 pharmaceuticals and chemicals, two land near Sherwin-Williams' maximum match and one vests on the same schedule.
Maximum match 6% of pay. Also in pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
Maximum match 6% of pay. Also in pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
Maximum match 6% of pay. Also in pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
Maximum match 6% of pay, level with Sherwin-Williams.
Maximum match 6% of pay, level with Sherwin-Williams.
Maximum match 3.5% of pay. Same 3-year cliff as Sherwin-Williams.
Compare The Sherwin-Williams Company 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 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 The Sherwin-Williams Company's 401(k) match?
The Sherwin-Williams Company matches 100% of employee contributions up to 6% of eligible pay (plan year ended December 31, 2025).
When does the The Sherwin-Williams Company 401(k) match vest?
Cliff: 100% vested after 3 years of service.
Does The Sherwin-Williams Company's 401(k) plan have automatic enrollment?
Yes: default deferral 3% of pay; auto-escalation +1%/yr to 10%; default investment: Age-appropriate T. Rowe Price target date retirement fund (employee contributions); Company common stock (Company contributions) in the absence of participant direction.
Cite: 401(k) Monitor, “The Sherwin-Williams Company 401(k) plan facts”, from SEC Form 11-K accession 0000089800-26-000041, plan year ended 2025-12-31.