Maxing out 401k contributions at 18%?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, what happens when you max the $18K in PP20 let's say?

You lose the matching 5% govt contribution. So for example, let's say your gross pay check is $5k, then govt contributes $250. So if you hit the max $18k in pp 20, you are potentially losing $1.5k pre tax govt contribution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, what happens when you max the $18K in PP20 let's say?

The government match is spread out over the 26 PPs. So if you hit 18K in PP20, you miss out on 6PPs worth of match.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, what happens when you max the $18K in PP20 let's say?

You lose the matching 5% govt contribution. So for example, let's say your gross pay check is $5k, then govt contributes $250. So if you hit the max $18k in pp 20, you are potentially losing $1.5k pre tax govt contribution.

Ummmmmmmm. NO. No. No. No.

Unless you work for the Feds and participate in a TSP, the government is NOT matching your contributions, your employer is. If you do work for the Feds, than that needs to be stated, simply because the government is then your employer and not the "Government" who's matching your contributions.

There is NO such thing as a government match or government contribution, again, unless you have to be employed by the federal government and that's only because they're then your employer.

(Otherwise the logic is correct, if you max out early, you'll lose EMPLOYER MATCH because you're not contributing in this example paycheck 21 - end of year, because you've maxed your contribution limit.)

OP - I work in this industry, call your (husbands) 401k provider. There are truly no stupid questions, we get this is confusing for many people and are perfectly comfortable spending the time to make sure you understand this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, what happens when you max the $18K in PP20 let's say?

You lose the matching 5% govt contribution. So for example, let's say your gross pay check is $5k, then govt contributes $250. So if you hit the max $18k in pp 20, you are potentially losing $1.5k pre tax govt contribution.

Ummmmmmmm. NO. No. No. No.

Unless you work for the Feds and participate in a TSP, the government is NOT matching your contributions, your employer is. If you do work for the Feds, than that needs to be stated, simply because the government is then your employer and not the "Government" who's matching your contributions.

There is NO such thing as a government match or government contribution, again, unless you have to be employed by the federal government and that's only because they're then your employer.

(Otherwise the logic is correct, if you max out early, you'll lose EMPLOYER MATCH because you're not contributing in this example paycheck 21 - end of year, because you've maxed your contribution limit.)

OP - I work in this industry, call your (husbands) 401k provider. There are truly no stupid questions, we get this is confusing for many people and are perfectly comfortable spending the time to make sure you understand this.

Second line in op's post: "Husband is a fed . . ." This is DC, the government is a common employer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, what happens when you max the $18K in PP20 let's say?

You lose the matching 5% govt contribution. So for example, let's say your gross pay check is $5k, then govt contributes $250. So if you hit the max $18k in pp 20, you are potentially losing $1.5k pre tax govt contribution.

Ummmmmmmm. NO. No. No. No.

Unless you work for the Feds and participate in a TSP, the government is NOT matching your contributions, your employer is. If you do work for the Feds, than that needs to be stated, simply because the government is then your employer and not the "Government" who's matching your contributions.

There is NO such thing as a government match or government contribution, again, unless you have to be employed by the federal government and that's only because they're then your employer.

(Otherwise the logic is correct, if you max out early, you'll lose EMPLOYER MATCH because you're not contributing in this example paycheck 21 - end of year, because you've maxed your contribution limit.)

OP - I work in this industry, call your (husbands) 401k provider. There are truly no stupid questions, we get this is confusing for many people and are perfectly comfortable spending the time to make sure you understand this.

Second line in op's post: "Husband is a fed . . ." This is DC, the government is a common employer.

Industry PP again:
There is no such thing as a government match or government contribution - there is an employer contribution, in which case it happens to be the government as the employer. To give the impression that people should be looking for a "government match/contribution" because of poor semantic choices is misleading and one of the reasons there's a ton of confusion about 401ks.
To be particular, if OP's husband is a Fed, he doesn't have a 401k, he has a TSP.

I get this is nitpicky, but what happens is other people see/read this stuff and then they call and fight with us that the government isn't giving them their "government match" that other people get.

I'm the same person who spoke up early around the true-up of employer contributions as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, what happens when you max the $18K in PP20 let's say?

You lose the matching 5% govt contribution. So for example, let's say your gross pay check is $5k, then govt contributes $250. So if you hit the max $18k in pp 20, you are potentially losing $1.5k pre tax govt contribution.

Ummmmmmmm. NO. No. No. No.

Unless you work for the Feds and participate in a TSP, the government is NOT matching your contributions, your employer is. If you do work for the Feds, than that needs to be stated, simply because the government is then your employer and not the "Government" who's matching your contributions.

There is NO such thing as a government match or government contribution, again, unless you have to be employed by the federal government and that's only because they're then your employer.

(Otherwise the logic is correct, if you max out early, you'll lose EMPLOYER MATCH because you're not contributing in this example paycheck 21 - end of year, because you've maxed your contribution limit.)

OP - I work in this industry, call your (husbands) 401k provider. There are truly no stupid questions, we get this is confusing for many people and are perfectly comfortable spending the time to make sure you understand this.

Second line in op's post: "Husband is a fed . . ." This is DC, the government is a common employer.

Industry PP again:
There is no such thing as a government match or government contribution - there is an employer contribution, in which case it happens to be the government as the employer. To give the impression that people should be looking for a "government match/contribution" because of poor semantic choices is misleading and one of the reasons there's a ton of confusion about 401ks.
To be particular, if OP's husband is a Fed, he doesn't have a 401k, he has a TSP.

I get this is nitpicky, but what happens is other people see/read this stuff and then they call and fight with us that the government isn't giving them their "government match" that other people get.

I'm the same person who spoke up early around the true-up of employer contributions as well.

The OP said he was a fed and participating in the TSP. Calm down!!! NP here, but really bothered by your misplaced vitriol. Reading comprehension, folks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, what happens when you max the $18K in PP20 let's say?

You lose the matching 5% govt contribution. So for example, let's say your gross pay check is $5k, then govt contributes $250. So if you hit the max $18k in pp 20, you are potentially losing $1.5k pre tax govt contribution.

Ummmmmmmm. NO. No. No. No.

Unless you work for the Feds and participate in a TSP, the government is NOT matching your contributions, your employer is. If you do work for the Feds, than that needs to be stated, simply because the government is then your employer and not the "Government" who's matching your contributions.

There is NO such thing as a government match or government contribution, again, unless you have to be employed by the federal government and that's only because they're then your employer.

(Otherwise the logic is correct, if you max out early, you'll lose EMPLOYER MATCH because you're not contributing in this example paycheck 21 - end of year, because you've maxed your contribution limit.)

OP - I work in this industry, call your (husbands) 401k provider. There are truly no stupid questions, we get this is confusing for many people and are perfectly comfortable spending the time to make sure you understand this.

Second line in op's post: "Husband is a fed . . ." This is DC, the government is a common employer.

Industry PP again:
There is no such thing as a government match or government contribution - there is an employer contribution, in which case it happens to be the government as the employer. To give the impression that people should be looking for a "government match/contribution" because of poor semantic choices is misleading and one of the reasons there's a ton of confusion about 401ks.
To be particular, if OP's husband is a Fed, he doesn't have a 401k, he has a TSP.

I get this is nitpicky, but what happens is other people see/read this stuff and then they call and fight with us that the government isn't giving them their "government match" that other people get.

I'm the same person who spoke up early around the true-up of employer contributions as well.

The OP said he was a fed and participating in the TSP. Calm down!!! NP here, but really bothered by your misplaced vitriol. Reading comprehension, folks!

Vitriol?
You might need to get a dictionary, I don't think that means what you think it means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, what happens when you max the $18K in PP20 let's say?

You lose the matching 5% govt contribution. So for example, let's say your gross pay check is $5k, then govt contributes $250. So if you hit the max $18k in pp 20, you are potentially losing $1.5k pre tax govt contribution.

Ummmmmmmm. NO. No. No. No.

Unless you work for the Feds and participate in a TSP, the government is NOT matching your contributions, your employer is. If you do work for the Feds, than that needs to be stated, simply because the government is then your employer and not the "Government" who's matching your contributions.

There is NO such thing as a government match or government contribution, again, unless you have to be employed by the federal government and that's only because they're then your employer.

(Otherwise the logic is correct, if you max out early, you'll lose EMPLOYER MATCH because you're not contributing in this example paycheck 21 - end of year, because you've maxed your contribution limit.)

OP - I work in this industry, call your (husbands) 401k provider. There are truly no stupid questions, we get this is confusing for many people and are perfectly comfortable spending the time to make sure you understand this.

Second line in op's post: "Husband is a fed . . ." This is DC, the government is a common employer.

Industry PP again:
There is no such thing as a government match or government contribution - there is an employer contribution, in which case it happens to be the government as the employer. To give the impression that people should be looking for a "government match/contribution" because of poor semantic choices is misleading and one of the reasons there's a ton of confusion about 401ks.
To be particular, if OP's husband is a Fed, he doesn't have a 401k, he has a TSP.

I get this is nitpicky, but what happens is other people see/read this stuff and then they call and fight with us that the government isn't giving them their "government match" that other people get.

I'm the same person who spoke up early around the true-up of employer contributions as well.

The OP said he was a fed and participating in the TSP. Calm down!!! NP here, but really bothered by your misplaced vitriol. Reading comprehension, folks!

Vitriol?
You might need to get a dictionary, I don't think that means what you think it means.

The industry guy needs to calm down and stop writing. This is a DC focused website. Everyone else understood the OP meant government as employer.

[Anonymous]

I think "industry" makes a valid point. The fact that OP or better yet her husband doesn't actually know how the plan in which he/she participates actually works and/or doesn't know to talk to the personnel office to find out speaks volumes about the level of ignorance about this stuff generally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, what happens when you max the $18K in PP20 let's say?

You lose the matching 5% govt contribution. So for example, let's say your gross pay check is $5k, then govt contributes $250. So if you hit the max $18k in pp 20, you are potentially losing $1.5k pre tax govt contribution.

Ummmmmmmm. NO. No. No. No.

Unless you work for the Feds and participate in a TSP, the government is NOT matching your contributions, your employer is. If you do work for the Feds, than that needs to be stated, simply because the government is then your employer and not the "Government" who's matching your contributions.

There is NO such thing as a government match or government contribution, again, unless you have to be employed by the federal government and that's only because they're then your employer.

(Otherwise the logic is correct, if you max out early, you'll lose EMPLOYER MATCH because you're not contributing in this example paycheck 21 - end of year, because you've maxed your contribution limit.)

OP - I work in this industry, call your (husbands) 401k provider. There are truly no stupid questions, we get this is confusing for many people and are perfectly comfortable spending the time to make sure you understand this.

Second line in op's post: "Husband is a fed . . ." This is DC, the government is a common employer.

Industry PP again:
There is no such thing as a government match or government contribution - there is an employer contribution, in which case it happens to be the government as the employer. To give the impression that people should be looking for a "government match/contribution" because of poor semantic choices is misleading and one of the reasons there's a ton of confusion about 401ks.
To be particular, if OP's husband is a Fed, he doesn't have a 401k, he has a TSP.

I get this is nitpicky, but what happens is other people see/read this stuff and then they call and fight with us that the government isn't giving them their "government match" that other people get.

I'm the same person who spoke up early around the true-up of employer contributions as well.

It isn't poor semantics when it's been established the government is the employer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think "industry" makes a valid point. The fact that OP or better yet her husband doesn't actually know how the plan in which he/she participates actually works and/or doesn't know to talk to the personnel office to find out speaks volumes about the level of ignorance about this stuff generally.

Except OP had figured out the right answer, once she had all the facts. (And had the sense to question the original plan, since she perceived that she was hearing two different things--percent and $$--and to then vet her conclusion with others.) I think she's on the right track and should continue to learn more, question, and stay on top of these issues.

(And yes, like everyone else, I knew that government=employer. I'm a fed and talk about getting paid "by the government" not "by my employer" or "by my company." That's what people say in DC.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your husband should do 12% of his salary per year. That will get him close to maxing out at $18,000. Not sure where 18% comes from.

Absolutely wrong.

I contribute the max but spread the $18k over the 26 pay periods which Is $692 per pay period. Never use % because you don't want to lose out on the govt contributions! it's stupid that the government won't even prevent hitting the max early.

This! Please follow this OP and have OP contriibute a dollar amount.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, what happens when you max the $18K in PP20 let's say?

You lose the matching 5% govt contribution. So for example, let's say your gross pay check is $5k, then govt contributes $250. So if you hit the max $18k in pp 20, you are potentially losing $1.5k pre tax govt contribution.

Ummmmmmmm. NO. No. No. No.

Unless you work for the Feds and participate in a TSP, the government is NOT matching your contributions, your employer is. If you do work for the Feds, than that needs to be stated, simply because the government is then your employer and not the "Government" who's matching your contributions.

There is NO such thing as a government match or government contribution, again, unless you have to be employed by the federal government and that's only because they're then your employer.

(Otherwise the logic is correct, if you max out early, you'll lose EMPLOYER MATCH because you're not contributing in this example paycheck 21 - end of year, because you've maxed your contribution limit.)

OP - I work in this industry, call your (husbands) 401k provider. There are truly no stupid questions, we get this is confusing for many people and are perfectly comfortable spending the time to make sure you understand this.

Second line in op's post: "Husband is a fed . . ." This is DC, the government is a common employer.

Industry PP again:
There is no such thing as a government match or government contribution - there is an employer contribution, in which case it happens to be the government as the employer. To give the impression that people should be looking for a "government match/contribution" because of poor semantic choices is misleading and one of the reasons there's a ton of confusion about 401ks.
To be particular, if OP's husband is a Fed, he doesn't have a 401k, he has a TSP.

I get this is nitpicky, but what happens is other people see/read this stuff and then they call and fight with us that the government isn't giving them their "government match" that other people get.

I'm the same person who spoke up early around the true-up of employer contributions as well.

It isn't poor semantics when it's been established the government is the employer.

+1 Exactly. Nobody needed that explanation. At all.

[Anonymous]

He can move his IRA to the TSP if he wants. I did it with two previous 401ks when I went to the government. Does your husband's agency offer only the TSP or the TSP and a 401k. Some do, some don't.

The benefit of moving the IRA to the TSP is you could do Roth contributions. Unless the IRA he has is already a Roth, that might change things.