Guides
Three short explainers on how a 401(k) actually works. Every example is a real company, read from the document it was required to file, the same 219 filings behind our company pages. Facts and mechanics only; nothing here is financial advice.
The guides
- How 401(k) matching works
The four shapes a match formula takes, read from real filings: Coca-Cola's tiers, Exxon's threshold, Publix's $750 cap, IBM's ended match.
- 401(k) vesting, explained
Immediate, cliff and graded schedules with real examples, and what happens to the employer's money when you leave.
- Are your 401(k) fees high?
What plan-paid admin fees are (and are not), the real medians by plan size, and why $0 doesn't mean free.
Put them to work
- Compare two companies' 401(k) plans
Match formula, maximum match and vesting, side by side.
- What 401(k) fees are normal?
Median plan-paid cost per participant, by plan size.
- How this data is built
The pipelines, the honesty rules, and what we refuse to infer.