? 401 match after you resign

[newtoseattle]

Hello all - I resigned from my job (no, not retired yet!). Gave the required 3 month notice. I won't be done until late March, but the 401 match (and profit sharing) for 2014 isn't done/distributed until april. I'm assuming I miss out - but wanted to ask you smart folks to make sure (since I will have worked all of 2014) My employer is small - no "HR" department, etc to ask.
Thank you
I always learn a lot from the folks here!

 

[rodi]

It will depend entirely on your company and the plan documents.

Perhaps you can ask the brokerage that administers your 401k.... but they might not know.

Do you have an office manager? Do they know? (I worked for 30 person company for two years and the office manager was also in charge of payroll, benefits, 401k etc.)

 

[heeyy_joe]

nope.

 

[Senator]

My company matched in January, for the previous year. In the 'old' days, you had to be working on 12/31, but they have since changed the policy. I think because the higher paid people could not contribute the max to their 401K due to participation levels.

Now they are supposed to match no matter what. I am not sure what happens if you roll over the 401K to an IRA before the match.

 

[growing_older]

It makes logical sense that since you worked all of 2014, you should be entitled to the 2014 matching and profit sharing, but I know many places that do not work that way and once you are heading for the door, they stop all bonus payments and matches.

This is another reason I will not be giving notice until the last bonus and profit sharing I am owed has actually hit my account. I'd like to be more cooperative, but direct experience has shown that employers cannot be counted on to do the right thing about compensation in the event of someone leaving the company, so I don't want to accept that risk.

 

[Rustward]

It just depends on the plan. I would just leave the 401K in place until the company contribution is made. One thing for sure is that if you roll the balance to another 401K or IRA, you will relinquish membership in the plan, and there will be no account into which the company contribution could be deposited.

If you get the company contribution for 2014 in April 2015, stay in the plan until April 2016 and you will probably get the company contribution for January-March 2015.

Worked for me with a little fly-by-night dictatorship that had a safe harbor 401K with 3% company contribution and an evil owner who would have done anything possible to not make that company contribution.

Let us know what happens.

 

[2B]

Hello all - I resigned from my job (no, not retired yet!). Gave the required 3 month notice. I won't be done until late March, but the 401 match (and profit sharing) for 2014 isn't done/distributed until april. I'm assuming I miss out

I think you'll miss out too. The company I work for (until this coming January) used to have a "profit sharing" contribution to the 401k every April. If you weren't an active employee on the disbursement date, you didn't get it. Fortunately, we've switched to a 100% vested contribution on every pay period.

 

[cooch96]

Is it appropriate to congratulate you on your resignation? With the three months notice, It sounds like you're at least doing things according to your timeline.

 

[Texconsin]

Time value of money - and fairness

Hello all - I resigned from my job (no, not retired yet!). Gave the required 3 month notice. I won't be done until late March, but the 401 match (and profit sharing) for 2014 isn't done/distributed until april. I'm assuming I miss out - but wanted to ask you smart folks to make sure (since I will have worked all of 2014) My employer is small - no "HR" department, etc to ask.
Thank you
I always learn a lot from the folks here!

My current employer pays the 401(k) match during the year, concurrent with contributions. I can't recall how I did it when I ran payroll back in my Controller days. I can see how your company's method makes sense (if I'm over the annual matched amount in three quarters but don't contribute in the fourth, will I still get matches or do I lose a quarter?). Profit sharing would have to wait for the calculation, of course, so I wouldn't venture an opinion, except to ask..."how much profit was earned while you were working, compared to after you left?"

I'd say you should be entitled to the match, but the PS is a tougher question. We have performance goals for stock vesting, but we are not vested until subsequent quarters over the next one or two years. If we are gone before the vesting, so is the vesting. It's a heck of a carrot for employee longevity!

 

[Texas Proud]

In my old mega, the bonus was contingent on you being an employee of the company when it was paid... if you quit the day before it was in your account they would stop it...

When I was working, the match was with each paycheck... so no annual match... but that changed with the financial crisis.... I was told by someone there that the followed the bonus rule... no employment, no match... I think someone sued and won... because the plan was not written correctly... (all word or mouth, so do not know what is real or not)...

I have heard they have gone back to matching each paycheck...

 

[growing_older]

Gave the required 3 month notice.

What are the circumstances that require a three month notice. That seems unusually long.

 

[RetireBy90]

with my mega-corp we get 401K match with each paycheck, but there is a bonus paid in March and then a discretionary 1-3% 401K late March or April, like a profit sharing. I am planning for March 2017, so I can get the bonus and hopefully a 3% 401K. Then we can head south to enjoy beaches before the schools are let out April and May. The beach thing without school kids is what I'm really looking forward to

 

[newtoseattle]

Thanks to all for your thoughts/advice.
I think I'll just leave my 401 where its at and see if any magical match shows up!

In response to why the 3 month notification - I was contractually obligated!

No congrats really - just changing jobs - although I am excited about the new one and wasn't really happy with the "old" one.
I'm close to FIRE and thought about sticking it out, but just decided to live in the "now" and this new opportunity came up. So even if I lose out on some retirement money, its worth it if I'm happier with the new position!