Work & the Rat RaceRetirement Plans

The Employer Match

Money your employer adds when you save

Many employers add money to your retirement savings, but only after you save first. How much of it gets left on the table?

You'll find out

  • How a match is worked out
  • The $100 bills people walk past
  • When the match is really yours

Why it matters

A match is part of the pay package. It goes only to the workers who save, and many never collect all of it.

About 3 min6 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 155 · Zone 18

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More in this zone

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  2. 156CareersA Dozen Jobs in a LifetimeThe average American career has many chapters
  3. 157TaxesW-2 or 1099Employee or contractor changes your taxes
  4. 158Labor LawEvery Hour Over 40 Pays ExtraMany salaried workers get no overtime at all
  5. 159NegotiationNegotiating Your PayThe first number on the table shapes the result
  6. 160EarningsWhat a Raise Is WorthA small raise compounds across a career
  7. 161Decision MakingThe Sunk Cost TrapYears already spent shouldn't decide the next ones
  8. 162AmbitionThe Bobbin BoyAndrew Carnegie started at $1.20 a week in a cotton mill, built a steel empire, and gave most of it away