UnitedHealth Group Incorporated 401(k) match: 4.5% max
UnitedHealth Group 401(k) Savings Plan · UNH · CIK 731766
Maximum employer match, as a share of pay
4.5%
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated matches 100% (dollar-for-dollar) of the first 3% of pay, then 50% of the next 3% of pay, for a maximum employer match of 4.5% of pay.
From the Form 11-K filed June 11, 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 UnitedHealth puts in, and what the plan costs
What UnitedHealth put into the plan, per active participant
$3,341
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated put $3,341 into this plan for each of its 199,134 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.
UnitedHealth put in more per active participant than 58% of plans with 5,000+ participants at law, consulting and engineering firms. The middle plan in that group of 168 reported $2,987. Law, consulting and engineering comes from business code 541990, which UnitedHealth 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.
What this figure cannot separate: how much UnitedHealth 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 411321939, plan 001 · DOL EFAST2 ↗
The $3,341 above is the Form 5500 figure for plan year 2024, and it counts every employer dollar on one line. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated 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 UnitedHealth puts in
$2,228
a year, at a $49,500 salary.
The match paragraph, word for word
“The Company makes a safe harbor matching contribution equal to 100% of contributions up to 3% of eligible compensation, plus 50% of the next 3% of eligible compensation for a maximum contribution of 4.5% per payroll period as defined in the Plan document. Additional discretionary contributions may also be made by the Company. No discretionary contributions were made during the 2025 plan year.”
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
71.43 out of 100
How fast the employer’s money becomes yours. Higher than 32% 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%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%. The score is the average of those 7 readings.
Vesting, word for word
“Participants are immediately vested in their salary deferral contributions, rollover contributions, and earnings thereon. Employer safe harbor contributions and discretionary contributions, if any, and earnings thereon vest in accordance with the provisions of the Plan as follows: Years of Service Vesting Less than 2 years 0% 2 or more 100% Notwithstanding the vesting schedule above, employer contributions, if any, will become fully vested (100%) upon the occurrence of any of the following events while the participant is employed by the Company: the participant’s death, disability, attainment of normal retirement age (age 65), a partial or complete termination of or complete discontinuance of contributions to the Plan, or an acceleration date, as defined in the Plan document.”
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
“In general, eligible employees may make salary deferral contributions to the Plan upon employment with a participating employer of the Company and are automatically enrolled in the Plan as soon as administratively feasible after their hire date. Participants become eligible for employer safe harbor matching contributions once they are credited with one year of service. Employees whose employment is governed by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement (unless such collective bargaining agreement provides for the inclusion of those employees in the Plan), persons who the Company classifies as leased employees, and certain other classifications of employees are not 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
17th percentile
$21.66 per participant in plan-paid administrative cost, cheaper than 83% of plans with 5,000+ participants.
What is UnitedHealth's 401(k) match formula?
UnitedHealth's 401(k) employer match tops out at 4.5% of pay. The match is deposited each payroll. A tiered formula pays its best rate on the first slice of pay and less on the next, which is how the rate steps down.
| Match formula | 100% (dollar-for-dollar) of the first 3% of pay |
|---|---|
| then | 50% of the next 3% of pay |
| Maximum employer match | 4.5% of compensation |
| Deposited | Each payroll |
| Other employer contribution | Discretionary contributions may be made by the Company; no discretionary contributions were made during the 2025 plan year |
At a $75,000 salary, contributing 6% ($4,500) earns the full employer match of $3,375 for the year.
UnitedHealth appears in our match-change tracker. We keep a dated page for it: UnitedHealth Group cut its 401(k) match, effective January 1, 2026.
What the filing says, word for word
“The Company makes a safe harbor matching contribution equal to 100% of contributions up to 3% of eligible compensation, plus 50% of the next 3% of eligible compensation for a maximum contribution of 4.5% per payroll period as defined in the Plan document. Additional discretionary contributions may also be made by the Company. No discretionary contributions were made during the 2025 plan year.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 11, 2026, SEC EDGAR, corroborated by the filing's inline-XBRL facts · SEC ↗
What is UnitedHealth's 401(k) vesting schedule?
UnitedHealth vests the employer match on a cliff schedule: nothing is yours until two years of service, then 100% at once. Leave a day early and the employer money goes back to the plan, the edge a two-year cliff creates.
| Employer match vesting | Cliff: 100% vested after 2 years of service |
|---|---|
| Your own contributions | Immediate: always 100% yours |
| Accelerated vesting | Fully vested upon death, disability, attainment of normal retirement age (age 65), a partial or complete termination of or complete discontinuance of contributions to the Plan, or an acceleration date, while employed by the Company |
| Other employer contributions | Discretionary contributions vest on the same schedule as safe harbor contributions (0% before 2 years of service, 100% at 2 or more years) |
Vesting, word for word
“Participants are immediately vested in their salary deferral contributions, rollover contributions, and earnings thereon. Employer safe harbor contributions and discretionary contributions, if any, and earnings thereon vest in accordance with the provisions of the Plan as follows: Years of Service Vesting Less than 2 years 0% 2 or more 100% Notwithstanding the vesting schedule above, employer contributions, if any, will become fully vested (100%) upon the occurrence of any of the following events while the participant is employed by the Company: the participant’s death, disability, attainment of normal retirement age (age 65), a partial or complete termination of or complete discontinuance of contributions to the Plan, or an acceleration date, as defined in the Plan document.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 11, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
Who can join UnitedHealth's 401(k), and is enrollment automatic?
UnitedHealth enrolls new hires automatically at 3% of pay, rising each year to 6% of pay.
| Plan entry | Eligible employees may make salary deferral contributions upon employment with a participating employer and are automatically enrolled as soon as administratively feasible after their hire date |
|---|---|
| Match eligibility | Participants become eligible for employer safe harbor matching contributions once they are credited with one year of service |
| Excluded groups | Employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for inclusion), persons classified as leased employees, and certain other classifications of employees |
| Automatic enrollment | Yes: default deferral 3% of pay; auto-escalation up to 6% |
Eligibility, word for word
“In general, eligible employees may make salary deferral contributions to the Plan upon employment with a participating employer of the Company and are automatically enrolled in the Plan as soon as administratively feasible after their hire date. Participants become eligible for employer safe harbor matching contributions once they are credited with one year of service. Employees whose employment is governed by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement (unless such collective bargaining agreement provides for the inclusion of those employees in the Plan), persons who the Company classifies as leased employees, and certain other classifications of employees are not eligible to participate in the Plan.”
Automatic enrollment, word for word
“Eligible employees are automatically enrolled at an employee pretax deferral rate of 3% of their eligible pay,”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 11, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
What does the UnitedHealth plan report on Form 5500?
The UnitedHealth plan reported $26.6B in assets and 278,507 participants for plan year 2024.
| Total plan assets | $26,618,762,181 |
|---|---|
| Participants | 278,507 |
| Recordkeeper | Fidelity Invst Instnl Oprtn Co, Inc. |
| Plan-paid admin cost per participant | $21.66 |
How that cost compares
This plan pays $21.66 per participant. The median across plans at law, consulting and engineering firms is $152.18, from the 7,159 of 7,635 whose Form 5500 yields a per-participant cost.
UnitedHealth Group 401(k) Savings Plan on its Form 5500 filing: fees, providers and financials
How does UnitedHealth's 401(k) match compare?
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated'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 at law, consulting and engineering firms, two land near UnitedHealth's maximum match and one vests on the same schedule.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Also at law, consulting and engineering firms.
Maximum match 6% of pay. Also at law, consulting and engineering firms.
Maximum match 3% of pay. Also at law, consulting and engineering firms.
Maximum match 4.5% of pay, level with UnitedHealth.
Maximum match 4.5% of pay, level with UnitedHealth.
Maximum match 6% of pay. Same 2-year cliff as UnitedHealth.
Compare UnitedHealth Group Incorporated 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 11, 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 UnitedHealth Group Incorporated's 401(k) match?
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated matches 100% (dollar-for-dollar) of the first 3% of pay, then 50% of the next 3% of pay, for a maximum employer match of 4.5% of compensation (plan year ended December 31, 2025).
When does the UnitedHealth Group Incorporated 401(k) match vest?
Cliff: 100% vested after 2 years of service.
Does UnitedHealth Group Incorporated's 401(k) plan have automatic enrollment?
Yes: default deferral 3% of pay; auto-escalation up to 6%.
Cite: 401(k) Monitor, “UnitedHealth Group Incorporated 401(k) plan facts”, from SEC Form 11-K accession 0000731766-26-000143, plan year ended 2025-12-31.