Who contributes max to 401k?

[Daylily]

People often say in these forums that they are maxing out their 401(k)s. Does this mean the person is contributing enough to get the maximum employer match or does it mean the person is contributing the $15,500 max ($20,500 for over 50)?

It was my goal this year to do the $15,500 max but with DH not working I'm not sure I'll be able to swing it.

My question is, anyone care to share if they are actually contributing the full $15,500?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Yes we are and to IRAs the maximum as well.

[BabyBear]

I don't make enough to put in the $15,500. That's about 1/2 of what I make for the year!! And as much as I'd like to be able to put that much away each year, I also have this crazy desire to eat, too!!

I do, however, put in enough to get my company 3% match (plus as much extra as I can). It's slowly starting to add up and I'm happy with it for now.

I add my bonuses to it and any extra I can throw towards it each week.

[jIM_Ohio]

if someone said maxing 401k, I would assume 15,500. The match is not part of the max.

It should be noted if 401k has a match, and the max is reached prior to last pay period, then the match is lost for the pay periods after the max is reached.

I contribute about have the max ($7700 or so) to my 401k- 11% contribution, 4% match.

[safari]

I contribute 10%, which is the maximum I am allowed because I am considered "highly compensated." My company matches 66.66% of the the first 6%.

[maat55]

How much to max too, depends on how good the investment tool being offered by your company. In most cases, I would only put in up to the match, then fund a separate Roth after.

[InDebtInDC]

I contribute up to the IRS limit for pre-tax contributions to get tax benefits.

[Snave]

I contribute the 15,500 IRS limit and my company matches 4% of my salary. I also have a company pension which I actually have conrol over investing - which is a really nice benefit of the pension. At the end of each year, they put the pension money in an account run by the same company that does my 401K (fidelity). Currently the pension is 4.25% of my salary and the percentage rises with age in 5 year increments. Ex: 4.25% for age 30-34, 5.5% from 35-39, 6.75% from 40-44, etc... I have about a 50-50 split of my 401K going towards the roth 401K and traditional 401K. We also put the max in for our roth IRA's as well. My wife stays at home, so we do not have a 401k for her. When she was a teacher, we did max out her 403b. She made about $30K a year and we would max it out. This was a few years ago when the limits were around 14K or 14.5K. She would come home with about $800 of take home pay a month after taxes and her 403b contribution. Needless to say, she didn't like that much. But, she looks back now and we have quite a bit in her account so she is glad we did it.

[disneysteve]

My wife contributes 50% of her pay, which is the maximum she is allowed to put in. Unfortunately, she doesn't earn enough for that to equal $15,500.

I don't have a 401K myself.

[scfr]

Originally Posted by InDebtInDC

I contribute up to the IRS limit for pre-tax contributions to get tax benefits.

Same here.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I meant to say we contribute $15.5k. That's what max means. DH is HCE but his company does a safe harbor contribution match so he's able to max it out.

[txex86]

We contribute $15.5 to 401K's each year with a 5% company match. We also contribute $5,000 each to Roth IRA's.

[hrdtail]

I put $600.00 a paycheck to my 457b (deferred comp) X 26 pay periods is $15,600.

[Broken Arrow]

My employer matches all of our 401k contributions, so yes, I max it without reservation.

[Beccagold]

I would consider maxing out 401k's to equal the $15,500 limit. That being said, last year was my first year maxing out mine. It looks like this year we will max out DH's 401k, too. It's hard for me to get an exact number since my bonuses go towards 401k contributions as well. I try to adjust it to equal as close to max as possible without losing the company match before year end.

We don't contribute to a seperate IRA.

[Slug]

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

My employer matches all of our 401k contributions, so yes, I max it without reservation.

I max but I want to work where you work. Dang. A free 15.5k each year...nice.

[texastek76]

I contribute up to the $15,500 limit and my employer matches the first 6%.

[Broken Arrow]

Originally Posted by Slug

I max but I want to work where you work. Dang. A free 15.5k each year...nice.

Hehe, my employer only matches $0.28 to the dollar though. It's still good, but not as good what others here have....

[aida2003]

My DH maxes out to the IRS limit + 4% co. match. I will try to max out starting next year. Now I contribute around $12k + 3% co. match.
Our both RothIRA are maxed out, of course.

[illinigamer]

Originally Posted by jIM_Ohio

It should be noted if 401k has a match, and the max is reached prior to last pay period, then the match is lost for the pay periods after the max is reached.

This is not true in all cases. Our company has a 50% match plus a year end "discretionary" match to bring the match up to 6% of salary (this has been done every single year). In this sort of arrangement, even if you max before year end, you still get a full 6% eventually. I am not sure how common an a plan like this is, however.