Date

S.P.A.R.K. Meeting - Keeping Our Teens Safe on the Road

02/23/2010 - 7:00pm

What Young Drivers Must Know - All Parents and Teens Invited and Teens receive community service hours!

How to Deal with Agressive Drivers and Cell Phones....Texting...The Risks!

Location: the New DPS Building on Carroll Avenue - Enter through the main entrance above the Bronze Statues.

Questions? Contact Laura Hill 817-980-5011

Avoid the Traps: Getting the Most of Employer Matching

Submitted by: Jean Keener, Keener Financial - 817-993-0401

Many employers have reduced or eliminated matching in the past several years. If you're fortunate enough to still have a match, you want to take full advantage of this potentially significant boost to your retirement plans. Every dollar your employer contributes toward your retirement is a dollar you don't have to.

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To make the most of employer matching, you need to answer two questions:

  1.  What's the formula?
  2. How does my employer handle "maxing out" - reaching the federal limits of $16,500 for 401(k) plans for those under 50, and $22,000 for those 50+ - before the end of the year?

The first part - understanding the formula - is usually the easy part.

Once you know the formula, you need to contribute at least as much as they match if at all possible. A common formula is 100% up to 3% and then 50% on the next 2% - so you would need to contribute a minimum of 5% to get the full match. Other times, employers match up to 6%, 10% or more, so your contributions to make the most of the match are higher.

The next part - answering the max out question - can get more complex.

Sometimes the most aggressive and well-intentioned savers actually hurt themselves by completing their full contribution before the end of the year. Companies have several choices in how they approach calculating your match, and it all really depends on your plan's summary plan description.

Here are some of the ways it's handled: