Don't open the 401k. Open your own Roth IRA and max it out. Forget about the match. If you open it and still leave the company, the fees of the account will go up.
The medical maybe worse than you have now. Dental? They pay nothing. You will be wasting your money.
If you are young and healthy and not in DC where they fine you, go without. I didn't have any insurance from age 18-30.
I also never had 401k offered and that was a blessing. Invested on my own, got better at it, and retired very early.
Now my own investment make me several times my yearly income.
This could not have happened inside of a 401k.

Anonymous wrote:The benefits were listed in the offer letter so this is really odd. I will escalate it. It could be that the HR person is just not doing their job. I was not given the opportunity to sign up for any benefits yet. Nothing is being withheld except for the Social Security, taxes....

Have you heard anyone else say they are having trouble with benefits?

Are people at the company quitting or leaving for other jobs?

The benefits were listed in the offer letter so this is really odd. I will escalate it. It could be that the HR person is just not doing their job. I was not given the opportunity to sign up for any benefits yet. Nothing is being withheld except for the Social Security, taxes....

Anonymous wrote:How big is the company? If under 50 people they don't have to give you benefits.

It is under 50.

I mean, what are the excuses?

Are they saying you are not eligible?
Are they looking for paperwork?
Is one person in HR falling down on the job?

What are they saying is going on?
Also ask them to confirm the effective date is retroactive and will be [date of eligibility].

OP do you have an offer letter or some other written communication that states what the benefits of your job would be? Do you have a lawyer in the family or know someone who can read the “offer” carefully and confirm your understanding of what the offer says? You need to understand your rights and then ask HR for a meeting to walk you through your benefits.

At least you have a job. Begin the job hunting process again and ramp it up. When a company shows you who they are, believe them. Forget about sticking around for a full year. GTFO as soon as you can.

Anonymous wrote:I would worry that this means the company does not have sufficient funding and will go out of business soon. This is highly weird.

Exactly this. Plan an exit for as soon as possible.

Anonymous wrote:How big is the company? If under 50 people they don't have to give you benefits.

Legally maybe. But if you are promised benefits as a part of your salary/conditions of hire, that is a different issue. If they did that, the company would not be providing the same level of overall pay that they offered and an employee accepted.

How big is the company? If under 50 people they don't have to give you benefits.