#401k

Hi there, I was following the email that said you can make changes to your bonus contribution as to where it will land cash or 401k and when I went to the site I could see a $$$ amount that I could select for cash or 401k, does that mean that is my bonus amount? It seems really low even though I exceeded last year so I am not sure if that is the correct amount or if I’m misunderstanding

This company lays off folks all the time. No reason other than the company isn't meeting their targets. Management team has no loyalty at all to long time, good employees. Even half the HR team including the CPO was canned recently.

And don't get me started. There are no merit increases. And they give you a 401k match but it's funded only once a year. In September 2025 you get your 2024 match. Cool, huh?

anyone else think this trimester update is stupid? the behavioral model is just word soup. how about talking about why our 401k profit sharing contribution was so low?

Right now in America we have more private equity firms than we have McDonald’s. Let that sink in…. More leveraged buyout shops than fast food franchises. And somehow that is supposed to be normal….

This is the investmnt vehicle of choice for Ivy League nepo babies who want the upside without the liability. They sit on top of a backlog of 31,000 to 39,000 companies they cannot sell because they stuffed them with debt and marked them at fantasy valuations. The funds are supposed to close. The assets are supposed to exit. But the market will not pay what they claim those assets are worth.

So what do they do??

The PE firm itself takes almost no risk. They create a fund. Outside investors supply the capital. They borrow the rest from banks, pensions, and public retirement systems. Then they buy a company and load the debt onto that company’s balance sheet. Not their own. The company owes the money back.

It is like buying a car where you get the title, the resale credit, and the bragging rights, but the car is responsible for making the payments. And while the car is trying to pay for itself, you sell its parking spot, lease out its tires, refinance its mainteance plan, and siphon the cash. Then you add more debt. The car still owes it all.

For years, that game worked because rates were near zero. Over the last two years, rates went up. That adjustable rate debt they stacked on top of these businesses is now costing 14 to 18 percent. In distressed deals, 21 PCT. On billions of dollars.

So the math stopped working……..

Instead of taking the loss, they started doing secondaries. ABC PE cant sell its billion dollar company. XYZ Private Equity cannot sell theirs. So they sell them to each other at the same inflated valuations. They borrow fresh money from pensions and other investors to do it. The first fund gets “liquidity.” The second fund inherits the problem.

The Financial Times has been calling this a pyramid for years. No real price discovery. No true market validation. Just circular trades at numbers they agreed on.

Then even that stopped working. One hundred billion dollars in assets could not be moved in the last two quarters of 2025, even through these internal trades.

So now we get continuation funds.

This is where it goes from financial engineering to parody. ABC Private Equity has a company it cannot sell. The fund must close. So they create Fund 2. They raise new money from new investors. Then Fund 2 buys the same asset from Fund 1 at an even higher valuation. The cash from Fund 2 pays off the investors in Fund 1. The asset never faced the open market. The price is whatever they say it is.

That is not sophisticated. That is a textbook Ponzi dynamic. New money pays off old money. The underlying asset does not justify the valuation. It just gets passed around inside the same firm.

And who is the new money? Public pensions. Retirement accounts. 401k allocations. Teachers, firefighters, municipal workers. People who do not even know their retirement is being used to refinance a debt stack on a company nobody else would buy.

Meanwhile, those companies are being strip mined. Fees. Dividends. Asset sales. Cost cutting. More leverage. All while being valued at numbers the market has already rejected.

There is now 31,000 to 39,000 companies sitting in this pipeline. They need exits. They need buyers. They need cash.

Ponzi structures always collapse the same way. Not with drama at first, but with a liquidity squeeze. Eventually you run out of new money. When that happens, the valuations get marked to reality. And reality is not kind to overleveraged assets paying double digit interest.

Instead of admitting the model is broken, the industry is looking at the biggest pools of capital left and thinking: open the pensions wider. Shift the allocation rules. Expand the mandate. Push more retirement money into private markets.

So rather than let bad bets fail, we socialize the downside.

More private equity firms than McDonald’s. Tens of thousands of companies trapped in debt stacks. One hundred billion dollars that could not even be papered over with internal trades. And the proposed solution is to feed it more pension cash.

If this ends the way Ponzi structures usually end, it will not be the partners in the Hamptons taking the hit.

It will be the retirees.

For people who quit T without a severance but have some pension, what are the things you need to take care of in your 2 week notice? Is it as simple as turning your badge, phone and laptop or are there any financial and documentation wise things you need to take care of in terms of 401K

I had set up a 6% 401k contribution on my bonus payout to get the full company match. However, the 2025 STI payout paycheck doesn't have any 401k deduction. Therefore, I am guessing there won't be a company match. Anyone else seeing this? I have reached out to HR via email for clarification.

So remember you think you are guaranteed but honestly once the pensions were sold off they are no longer federally guaranteed it’s state regulatory guaranteed.Which is dependent on state .So NJ would be up to 250,000 .So if you have more your gambling.I believe.But here is one article https://www.americanretiree.com/post/verizon-retirees-object-to-5-9-billion-pension-spinoff

Why aren't we complaining about the laughable 401K match or the limited medical coverage? CDW could contribute $10K to our 401k's today and that would mean more to me than a few days of vacation pay when I leave, or beef up the medical or just give reasonable cola increases? 3% isn't close to actual anything when our base pay isn't even average ---so maybe we should focus on overall benefits that would be incentives to stay.
Calling them merit raises is insulting to people who work hard for this company and get little recognition, but we always seem to find the big money to pay those directors and vp's . Cut the exec pay and use it to pay the people who do the work, then we could have less need for layoffs

It’s midweek. All Hands. The higher ups are ranting and raving about how great of a year we had. How well the company performed. How it’s all “due to our hard work and our commitment to ensuring a great client experience”. Then… the Q&A starts

The inevitable, quarterly question about pay comes up. Management scoffs and gives the same tired answers they always do, smiling because that “hard work” benefits them way more than it does us. “If you want better pay, get promoted”, they say. Work harder, get better reviews each year. Go above and beyond, that’ll make things better.

The kicker is: that’s all bullsh-t.

I’ve been here 8 years. Tried my very best for 6 of those. Got exceeds, got promoted, got licensed, dragged my a-s to the office almost every single day during RTO to sit on VIRTUAL teams meetings, and guess what… it’s always 2-4% merit increases. I half assed it last year, still did pretty well, but basically stopped working myself to the bone for self preservation. Guess what? 2-4%.

Bonus? Pretty much the same as last year accounting for the slight increase in base pay.

Promotions don’t seem to be available now. New hires get paid more than I do. The job market su-ks, I keep looking. I keep my job because I need stability to take care of my family.

My boss plays favorites and low performing ‘personalities’ get better raises because they make people laugh and pick up food during work hours.

This isn’t just a Schwab issue, but an endemic struggle for all who shoulder the palanquins of corporate America. Prices keep going up. Wages barely increase and the rich get richer.

I want to find that spark again. I want to love what I do and strive to perform at my best, but it’s so damned hard when either way… it’s 2 to fu--ing 4%…

There’s really no point

Anyone flip their 401k to IRA yet? What was your experience? Did you choose managed or self directed ?

Change your 401k automatic payroll deduction to 0 ASAP!

If you got laid off, cash is king, don't worry about retirement at this moment - changing to 0 will increase your paychecks for the non-working notice period. If you think you might be laid off or know you are going to be in next round, keep this tip in mind. FYI - if you lose access, you can still get this info via Total Comp Online.

Benefits - Make all medical, dental, eye doctor appointments and refill all prescriptions ASAP. I called my doctor to tell them I was laid off and they called in extra refills for me. Anything you have been putting off, get done now. I had a couple procedures I'd been postponing due to work.

If you have the Vision insurance, it starts fresh every January - it does not matter if you got new glasses in December. I got new sunglasses I desperately needed and my kid got a new pair of regular glasses.

There are a lot of emotions that come with this, so stay strong and I believe we will all end up better off from this down the road. Peace.

Noticed the estimated Lump Sum payout is LOWER for 2026 vs. 2025, which is both alarming and surprising - especially since interest rates declined in 2025 ….. so, I was expecting to see an increase in the Lump Sum amount. Anyone else experience this, and any insight or explanation ??

Rob Del Bene finance guy got a big increase to $6million package. See below His base salary got raised to $800k, he got 401k payments, bonuses, and a load of other....

Just think a bonuses of 135% of base salary thats around $1.1 bonus for shrinking the company, good work if you can get it.

From his contract

2.Effective as of April 1, 2025, your base salary will be increased to $800,000 per year, and shall be payable in accordance with the Company’s normal U.S. payroll practices.

3.Effective as of April 1, 2025, your target annual bonus under the Company’s annual incentive plan will be increased to 135% of your base salary.

Let's reduce 401k from 9% to 6% and hide it.

It seems that there have been more layoffs today, primarily on the account delivery side. Right before the 401(k) match payout. Not sure if this is widespread or localized. These do not appear to be rebadging events.

does anybody know when gainwell will deposit the 2025 401(k) match?

What happened to 401k match? It's February and the match is still not in.

Anyone knows how the vesting will be ? Would this come under partial termination plan ?

Verizon retiree healthcare costs 2-4 times what is available on open market. The 25% retiree wireless discount is far more expensive than T-MO’s 55 plans — or any other carrier. Unless you have pension from wayyyy back or part of the union, there is no reason to stay until retirement. And they’ll rif you long before you hit mid-60s anyway. Get out now before Dan the Hatchet Man and Slam Hammock take what’s left of your dignity.

Five former Dell Technologies employees have filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that poor oversight of its 401(k) retirement plan led to massive losses for workers. The complaint, filed on Jan. 28 in federal court in Austin, Texas, claims Dell failed to properly manage the plan and cost participants more than $318 million.

According to the proposed class action, Dell violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by continuing to offer investment funds that consistently underperformed, even as stronger and less expensive alternatives were available. The plaintiffs argue that this prolonged inaction put employees’ retirement savings at risk and eroded long term returns.

It looks like the rumors were true. Employee match on retirement was reduced to 3.5%. That flew right under the radar.

Minimal/no raises or bonuses. Employee match ~50% of what other large companies offer. RTO wasted time and expense for no reason. No major benefits. Even OnePass has become outrageously expensive. From a FORTUNE 3 company. Absolutely disgusted.

Sorry you had to miss that summer Olympics game tickets you had.

Here’s a want. I want leaders who aren't total mo--ns. I want leaders who don't cut their employees 401k match before their over inflated salary. I want a less toxic culture that doesn't promote snake oil salesman over actual innovators. Or are those needs???

I don't know how I could dislike this person more. Maybe if he disparaged his brother or something to a live work audience… oh wait…

Here is my story. I made it 13 years at exxon before before quitting. No retirement for me except some of the pension lump sum. The lying a hole hr snake said I would not get anything but I got a little. I made several million dollars during my time at exxon and at my other company. I left with about 2.1 million in my 401k and a lump sum payout of only 230k. I left without any notice. I just stopped coming in to work. I truly hated exxon in the end and could not stand the supervisors and managers. The group was so toxic and gossipy. Eventually exxon sent me a letter of job abandonment and paid my vacation time. It was the best decision and feeling of my life. The money I made was more than enough for me to live on. I kept on working in order to get the medical benefit and higher pension payout but in the end it was not worth the pain and mental anguish. I was seriously thinking of working till 60 at exxon. I now travel the world visiting all of europe, Asia and south america. I got great medical insurance that is more expensive but better than exxon's was. I left in mid 2025 and my financial advisor has already increased my portfolio by almost 250,000 dollars. I live a very frugal life and have no payments as everything I own is paid off. I can live on as little as 2100.00 dollars a month. I so wanted to tell my supervisor to f k off and cuss them out but did not get the chance to. So in the end money was the key to my freedom and happiness. If you are miserable quit and leave before you suffer undue mental damage. This is my story and I hope it helps others who are going through the same he-l I was. I do not want to work anymore as exxon has ruined the experience for me. If I find employment that I can help and succeed in I may try. Good luck to all who play the game but remember the game is rigged at exxon. I had a horrible experience at exxon and hated every moment.

Just got mail from MetLife announcing "important updates to your MetLife 401(k) plan".

#1 New Target-Date funds. Balance fund going away. Ok fine.

#2 Access to Retirement Planning and Advice. Anybody have details on this? I couldn't find in the "literature" whether this was free (how much is free advice worth), or how much it costs. Sometimes the "advice" is really just a sales pitch, so sus. Seems unlikely that they could truly afford to offer "guidance tailored to your unique financial situation that evolves with you as your needs and goals change" unless it was 100% A.I.

Would like to hear from someone that knows.

Does any know when will CITI match our 401K 2025 contributions?

At this rate, I will not be surprised if Cigna starts taking away some perks like 401k match.

Cigna might start reducing match %, freeze 401k program for sometime or even completely remove 401k benefit to force people to quit.

FYI if u have Verizon stock in your 401k and choose to select cash instead of dividend reinvestment it gets treated as regular income when the dividend pays.

Just like this coming Monday.

Even though it’s coming from the 401k.

No penalty and depending how much stock you have can add up.

Just saying

Guys don’t work after 4-5, don’t go in early, don’t give up nights with your family, don’t respond to emails outside of work hours, don’t be proactive. Can’t tell you how much I have given up for this company over the last few years and what is there to show for it? No hope for promotion, 1% raises, took away my bonus, reduced 401k all for leaders to tell me I should be grateful I have a job. Sorta falls on deaf ears when your compensation is going up and ours is going down. All that to say, do the bare minimum guys, this company will not reward you for your efforts. On the contrary you’ll probably get laid off.

Give them none.

Skeletor, Cuervo Swerve-O, and SD have no compunction about making our experience as employees worse. From cutting our 401k match to delusional AI boosterism, they've demonstrated they are incapable of leading.

Mock them for the hacks they are whenever you can.

They just have to hold onto the money till the last minute.

Each year merits and bonus payments seem later too!

So the 401K company match is now in our Voyager accounts, and Robin / leadership no longer mention how they’ve sc--wed us by deferring the payout to January each year rather than with each paycheck. Can’t believe they kept this change in place, and think the workforce is so stupid and sheep-like to think it’s fine. There’s zero effective leadership here. Most managers are sychophants (mine is the epitome of the Peters’ Principle in practice…completely incompetent). Now the match is in, and the bonus due tomorrow, my resignation will be submitted on Monday.

Anyone else seen this before? Regarding possible violation of employee rights in TRP 401k plan?

https://bivens.plaintip.com/index.php/t-rowe-price-group/?li_fat_id=c9089eae-4599-4ec0-9a7b-9e4f1ed5a216&*CA

Various locations in WA listed as closure

Not layoff related, I know, but am curious what your investment return on your CVX 401(k) has been for the past year and YTD (you can see this easily when you click on the ESIP link from your Fidelity home page).

Suggested format:

1 year return X%
YTD return Y%

Mine:
1 year return ~14%
YTD return ~6%

Coworkers laid off last week, this week I hear the product I work on is being gutted. Some will move to other areas, others will be let go. For the “lucky ones” that remain, it feels like we are left behind on a sinking ship. Lower 401k, no hopes for promotion, they removed our bonuses, and after the earnings call today it seems things will continue to get worse. Besides the people I work with I can’t think of a single positive thing about working for this company, and ironically they’re in the process of wrecking that last part. The toughest part is that we can’t complain about low morale because that is by design. Leadership wants people to hate their job so they quit. Things are looking bleak - decided to start looking outside the company today.

If you have been recently laid off or left on your own, double check your vesting amount especially if you Rollover your account. I was fully vested as I had been with TD a long time past the vesting requirement before I left. I received an email in December telling me I needed to rollover my account or make an election by a certain time period or my account would be closed and I would basically receive a check for the balance. I rolled it, but then I was missing a large sum of money which was the match portion as if I wasn’t vested. I called Fidelity and they agreed I had been vested for awhile and they reached out to TD to refund me. I’m still waiting on my money and following up. I’m hoping I’m just a clerical error, but I just wanted to throw a heads up in case I’m not.

Do you think it is best to stop 401k withdrawal with the layoff uncertainty?

https://www.wellsfargoesopsettlement.com/

Anyone got the email?

Today Steve will announce he plans to return profits to Obama care in 2026. Flood your congressman with your thoughts as they should ask him where he obtained all that money. Makes sense why no one getting a descent raise, a bonus or why he decreased the 401 k match and the uptick in layoffs. He got to impress some congressman and throw them a bone.