Lag Between 401k Deduction and Employer Contribution

[Anonymous]

Sometimes as much as two weeks goes by between when my 401k deduction is taken from my check and when it hits my account- any thoughts on why this might be? Is it my employer or the bank?

[Anonymous]

It's your employer. The DOL has published guidelines that state the money must be sent to the plan as soon as the contributions can be reasonably seperated from the company's general assets. It also states the contribution must be made no later than something like 15 days into the month following the deduction. The key though is the reasonable seperation. A company cannot use the end of the window routinely. There's been some decent action by the DOL cracking down on companies trying to profit on the float.

[Anonymous]

It is also noteworthy that the contribution need be done within a certain number of days, but the match need not be done unil the end of the calendar year.