Automatic enrollment to 401k

[supernerdgirl]

hahah i got the whole "welcome to our 401 K program!" over the summer.

they're taking out a whole 2% of my weekend income which is like $90 if i'm lucky. heh, I have about $40 bucks in there.

at least they're taking it out for me, because otherwise i wouldn't have saved it (can't really afford to anyway).

[SLCPUNK]

Mine looks a lot more like a 201k these days....

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by supernerdgirl

they're taking out a whole 2% of my weekend income which is like $90 if i'm lucky. heh, I have about $40 bucks in there.

Almost everyone with anything started with just a little bit.. $40 here, $40 there (in my case it was $25 a month in a automatic investment)... you have to get started and the sooner the better even with little amounts -

Originally Posted by supernerdgirl

at least they're taking it out for me, because otherwise i wouldn't have saved it (can't really afford to anyway).

You are correct about them taking it out... but, also - you can't afford not to save.


Keep it up and don't get discouraged with the small amounts and/or small progress... over TIME you will be amazed what that compounding and dollar-cost-averaging does for you... don't stop!

[drjones96]

Originally Posted by sheenie2000

So the other day I get an envelope in the mail from my company's benefits center that had a Fidelity Fund Prospectus in it. There was no letter or anything so I was very confused. I have a Fildelity account but the letter would have then been addressed from Fidelity. I started my job less than a year ago so I never began contributing to my 401k with my company. (They dont match until you've been with them for a year).

Then today I decided to check my work email and lo and behold it says the following:

Because you’ve never enrolled in the 401(k) Match & Savings Plan, you’re missing an important opportunity to save for retirement. As announced in the Annual Benefits Enrollment Guide, XXX is adding a 401(k) automatic enrollment feature to the plan. To help you start saving, you will be automatically enrolled with a default 401(k) contribution election of 3%. Your deductions will start beginning with your January 7, 2009 pay. The contribution will be deducted from your pay each period and will be invested in the Fidelity Freedom Fund appropriate for the date you will reach age 62. The Plan’s default investment fund that applies to you is based on your age and a target retirement date of age 62. This default fund satisfies the requirements of a “qualified default investment alternative” under applicable Department of Labor regulations.


What the?!! They can't just decide to invest in what they feel like is best for me?!

LOL. I had something similar. When I started working at my new job earlier this year I neglected to sign up for my 401k. Three months later I got a quarterly statement in the mail. They were funneling it all into this default fund. So I had to go in and distribute it a little.

The thing that confused me was there were no funds being deducted from my pay check....but funds are showing up over there in my 401k. It was explained to me that the company (like many others) abandoned a pension plan in favor of a 401k years ago. So this amount that shows up over there is the company contribution for my retirement. If I contribute more the company matches up to a certain percentage of my contribution.