Percentage of Pay vs Flat Dollar Amount
Enrolling in a company retirement plan is usually the first step employees take to join the plan and it is important that the enrollment process be straight forward. There should also be a contact, i.e. an advisor (wink wink), who can guide the employees through the process if needed. Even with the most efficient enrollment process, there is a lot of
Retirement Contributions - Percentage of Pay vs Flat Dollar Amount
Enrolling in a company retirement plan is usually the first step employees take to join the plan and it is important that the enrollment process be straight forward. There should also be a contact, i.e. an advisor (wink wink), who can guide the employees through the process if needed. Even with the most efficient enrollment process, there is a lot of information employees must provide. Along with basic personal information, employees will typically select investments, determine how much they’d like to contribute, and document who their beneficiaries will be. This post will focus on one part of the contribution decision and hopefully make it easier when you are determining the appropriate way for you to save.
A common question you see on the investment commercials is “What’s Your Number”? Essentially asking how much do you need to save to meet your retirement goals. This post isn’t going to try and answer that. The purpose of this post is to help you decide whether contributing a flat dollar amount or a percentage of your compensation is the better way for you to save.
As we look at each method, it may seem like I favor the percentage of compensation because that is what I use for my personal retirement account but that doesn’t mean it is the answer for everyone. Using either method can get you to “Your Number” but there are some important considerations when making the choice for yourself.
Will You Increase Your Contribution As Your Salary Increases?
For most employees, as you start to earn more throughout your working career, you should probably save more as well. Not only will you have more money coming in to save but people typically start spending more as their income rises. It is difficult to change spending habits during retirement even if you do not have a paycheck anymore. Therefore, to have a similar quality of life during retirement as when you were working, the amount you are saving should increase.
By contributing a flat dollar, the only way to increase the amount you are saving is if you make the effort to change your deferral amount. If you do a percentage of compensation, the amount you save should automatically go up as you start to earn more without you having to do anything.
Below is an example of two people earning the same amount of money throughout their working career but one person keeps the same percentage of pay contribution and the other keeps the same flat dollar contribution. The percentage of pay person contributes 5% per year and starts at $1,500 at 25. The flat dollar person saves $2,000 per year starting at 25.
The percentage of pay person has almost $50,000 more in their account which may result in them being able to retire a full year or two earlier.
A lot of participants, especially those new to retirement plans, will choose the flat dollar amount because they know how much they are going to be contributing each pay period and how that will impact them financially. That may be useful in the beginning but may harm someone over the long term if changes aren’t made to the amount they are contributing. If you take the gross amount of your paycheck and multiply that amount by the percent you are thinking about contributing, that will give you close to, if not the exact, amount you will be contributing to the plan. You may also be able to request your payroll department to run a quick projection to show the net impact on your paycheck.
There are a lot of factors to take into consideration to determine how much you need to be saving to meet your retirement goals. Simply setting a percentage of pay and keeping it the same your entire working career may not get you all the way to your goal but it can at least help you save more.
Are You Maxing Out?
The IRS sets limits on how much you can contribute to retirement accounts each year and for most people who max out it is based on a dollar limit. For 2024, the most a person under the age of 50 can defer into a 401(k) plan is $23,000. If you plan to max out, the fixed dollar contribution may be easier to determine what you should contribute. If you are paid weekly, you would contribute approximately $442.31 per pay period throughout the year. If the IRS increases the limit in future years, you would increase the dollar amount each pay period accordingly.
Company Match
A company match as it relates to retirement plans is when the company will contribute an amount to your retirement account as long as you are eligible and are contributing. The formula on how the match is calculated can be very different from plan to plan but it is typically calculated based on a dollar amount or a percentage of pay. The first “hurdle” to get over with a company match involved is to put in at least enough money out of your paycheck to receive the full match from the company. Below is an example of a dollar match and a percent of pay match to show how it relates to calculating how much you should contribute.
Dollar for Dollar Match Example
The company will match 100% of the first $1,000 you contribute to your plan. This means you will want to contribute at least $1,000 in the year to receive the full match from the company. Whether you prefer contributing a flat dollar amount or percentage of compensation, below is how you calculate what you should contribute per pay period.
Flat Dollar – if you are paid weekly, you will want to contribute at least $19.23 ($1,000 / 52 weeks = $19.23). Double that amount to $38.46 if you are paid bi-weekly.
Percentage of Pay – if you make $30,000 a year, you will want to contribute at least 3.33% ($1,000 / $30,000).
Percentage of Compensation Match Example
The company will match 100% of every dollar up to 3% of your compensation.
Flat Dollar – if you make $30,000 a year and are paid weekly, you will want to contribute at least $17.31 ($30,000 x 3% = $900 / 52 weeks = $17.31). Double that amount to $34.62 if you are paid bi-weekly.
Percentage of Pay – no matter how much you make, you will want to contribute at least 3%.
If the match is based on a percentage of pay, not only is it easier to determine what you should contribute by doing a percent of pay yourself, you also do not have to make changes to your contribution amount if your salary increases. If the match is up to 3% and you are contributing at least 3% as a percentage of pay, you know you should receive the full match no matter what your salary is.
If you do a flat dollar amount to get the 3% the first year, when your salary increases you will no longer be contributing 3%. For example, if I set up my contributions to contribute $900 a year, at a salary of $30,000 I am contributing 3% of my compensation (900 / 30,000) but at a salary of $35,000 I am only contributing 2.6% (900 / 35,000) and therefore not receiving the full match.
Note: Even though in these examples you are receiving the full match, it doesn’t mean it is always enough to meet your retirement goals, it is just a start.
In summary, either the flat dollar or percentage of pay can be effective in getting you to your retirement goal but knowing what that goal is and what you should be saving to get there is key.
About Rob……...
Hi, I’m Rob Mangold. I’m the Chief Operating Officer at Greenbush Financial Group and a contributor to the Money Smart Board blog. We created the blog to provide strategies that will help our readers personally, professionally, and financially. Our blog is meant to be a resource. If there are questions that you need answered, please feel free to join in on the discussion or contact me directly.
Tax Reform: Your Company May Voluntarily Terminate Your Retirement Plan
Make no mistake, your company retirement plan is at risk if the proposed tax reform is passed. But wait…..didn’t Trump tweet on October 23, 2017 that “there will be NO change to your 401(k)”? He did tweet that, however, while the tax reform might not directly alter the contribution limits to employer sponsored retirement plans, the new tax rates
Make no mistake, your company retirement plan is at risk if the proposed tax reform is passed. But wait…..didn’t Trump tweet on October 23, 2017 that “there will be NO change to your 401(k)”? He did tweet that, however, while the tax reform might not directly alter the contribution limits to employer sponsored retirement plans, the new tax rates will produce a “disincentive” for companies to sponsor and make employer contributions to their plans.
What Are Pre-Tax Contributions Worth?
Remember, the main incentive of making contributions to employer sponsored retirement plans is moving income that would have been taxed now at a higher tax rate into the retirement years, when for most individuals, their income will be lower and that income will be taxed at a lower rate. If you have a business owner or executive that is paying 45% in taxes on the upper end of the income, there is a large incentive for that business owner to sponsor a retirement plan. They can take that income off of the table now and then realize that income in retirement at a lower rate.
This situation also benefits the employees of these companies. Due to non-discrimination rules, if the owner or executives are receiving contributions from the company to their retirement accounts, the company is required to make employer contributions to the rest of the employees to pass testing. This is why safe harbor plans have become so popular in the 401(k) market.
But what happens if the tax reform is passed and the business owners tax rate drops from 45% to 25%? You would have to make the case that when the business owner retires 5+ years from now that their tax rate will be below 25%. That is a very difficult case to make.
An Incentive NOT To Contribute To Retirement Plans
This creates an incentive for business owners NOT to contribution to employer sponsored retirement plans. Just doing the simple math, it would make sense for the business owner to stop contributing to their company sponsored retirement plan, pay tax on the income at a lower rate, and then accumulate those assets in a taxable account. When they withdraw the money from that taxable account in retirement, they will realize most of that income as long term capital gains which are more favorable than ordinary income tax rates.
If the owner is not contributing to the plan, here are the questions they are going to ask themselves:
Why am I paying to sponsor this plan for the company if I’m not using it?
Why make an employer contribution to the plan if I don’t have to?
This does not just impact 401(k) plans. This impacts all employer sponsored retirement plans: Simple IRA’s, SEP IRA’s, Solo(k) Plans, Pension Plans, 457 Plans, etc.
Where Does That Leave Employees?
For these reasons, as soon as tax reform is passed, in a very short time period, you will most likely see companies terminate their retirement plans or at a minimum, lower or stop the employer contributions to the plan. That leaves the employees in a boat, in the middle of the ocean, without a paddle. Without a 401(k) plan, how are employees expected to save enough to retire? They would be forced to use IRA’s which have much lower contribution limits and IRA’s don’t have employer contributions.
Employees all over the United States will become the unintended victim of tax reform. While the tax reform may not specifically place limitations on 401(k) plans, I’m sure they are aware that just by lowering the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20% and allowing all pass through business income to be taxes at a flat 25% tax rate, the pre-tax contributions to retirement plans will automatically go down dramatically by creating an environment that deters high income earners from deferring income into retirement plans. This is a complete bomb in the making for the middle class.
About Michael……...
Hi, I’m Michael Ruger. I’m the managing partner of Greenbush Financial Group and the creator of the nationally recognized Money Smart Board blog . I created the blog because there are a lot of events in life that require important financial decisions. The goal is to help our readers avoid big financial missteps, discover financial solutions that they were not aware of, and to optimize their financial future.
How To Teach Your Kids About Investing
As kids enter their teenage years, as a parent, you begin to teach them more advanced life lessons that they will hopefully carry with them into adulthood. One of the life lessons that many parents teach their children early on is the value of saving money. By their teenage years many children have built up a small savings account from birthday gifts,
As kids enter their teenage years, as a parent, you begin to teach them more advanced life lessons that they will hopefully carry with them into adulthood. One of the life lessons that many parents teach their children early on is the value of saving money. By their teenage years many children have built up a small savings account from birthday gifts, holidays, and their part-time jobs. As parents you have most likely realized the benefit of compounding interest through working with a financial advisor, contributing to a 401(k) plan, or depositing money to a college savings account. As financial planners, we often get the question: “What is the best way to teach your children about the value of investing and compounding interest? "
The #1 rule.......
We have been down this road many times with our clients and their children. Here is the number one rule: Make it an engaging experience for your kids. Investments can be a very dull topic to talk about and it can be painfully dull from a child’s point of view. All they know is the $1,000 that was in their savings account is now with their parent’s investment guy.
Ignoring the life lessons for a moment, the primary investment vehicle for brokerage accounts with balances under $50,000 is typically a mutual fund. But let’s pause for a moment. We have a dual objective here. We of course want our children to make as much money as possible in their investment account but we also want to simultaneously teach them life long lessons about investing.
The issue with young investors
Explaining how a mutual fund operates can be a complex concept for a first time investor because you have all of these companies in one investment, expense ratios, different types of funds, and different fund families. It’s not exciting, it’s intimidating.
Consider this approach. Ask the child what their hobbies are? Do they have a cell phone? Have them take their cell phone out during the meeting and ask them how often they use it during the day and how many of their friends have cell phones. Then ask them, if you received $20 every time someone in this area bought a cell phone would you have a lot of money? Then explain that this scenario is very similar to owning stock in a cell phone company. The more they sell the more money the company makes. As a “shareholder” you own a piece of that company and you receive a piece of the profits if the company grows. If your child plays sports, do they wear a lot of Nike or Under Armour? Explain investing to them in a way that they can relate it to their everyday life. Now you have their attention because you attached the investment idea to something they love.
A word of caution....
If they are investing in stocks it is also important for them to understand the concept of risk. Not every investment goes up and you could start with $1,000 and end the year with $500, so they need to understand risk and time horizon.
While it’s not prudent in most scenarios to invest 100% of a portfolio in one stock, there may be some middle ground. Instead of investing their entire $1,000 in a mutual fund, consider investing $500 – $700 in a mutual fund but let them pick one to three stocks to hold in the account. It may make sense to have them review those stock picks with your investment advisor for two reasons. One, you want them to have a good experience out of the gates and that investment advisor can provide them with their option of their stock picks. Second, the investment advisor can tell them more about the companies that they have selected to further engage them.
Don't forget the last step......
Download an app on their smartphone so they can track the investments that they selected. You may be surprise how often they check the performance of their stock holdings and how they begin to pay attention to news and articles applicable to the companies that they own.At that point you have engaged them and as they hopefully see their investment holdings appreciate in value they will become even more excited about saving money in their investment account and making their next stock pick. In addition, they also learn valuable investment lessons early on like when one of their stocks loses value. How do they decide whether to sell it or continue to hold it? It’s a great system that teaches them about investing, decision making, risk, and the value of compounding investment returns.
About Michael……...
Hi, I’m Michael Ruger. I’m the managing partner of Greenbush Financial Group and the creator of the nationally recognized Money Smart Board blog . I created the blog because there are a lot of events in life that require important financial decisions. The goal is to help our readers avoid big financial missteps, discover financial solutions that they were not aware of, and to optimize their financial future.
Strategies to Save for Retirement with No Company Retirement Plan
The question, “How much do I need to retire?” has become a concern across generations rather than something that only those approaching retirement focus on. We wrote the article, How Much Money Do I Need To Save To Retire?, to help individuals answer this question. This article is meant to help create a strategy to reach that number. More
The question, “How much do I need to retire?” has become a concern across generations rather than something that only those approaching retirement focus on. But what if you, or in the case of married couples, your spouse, are not covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan? In this article we are going to cover retirement savings strategies for individuals that may not be covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
Married Filing Jointly - One Spouse Covered by Employer Sponsored Plan and is Not Maxing Out
A common strategy we use for clients when a covered spouse is not maxing out their deferrals is to increase the deferrals in the retirement plan and supplement income with the non-covered spouse’s salary. The limits for 401(k) deferrals in 2025 is $23,500 for individuals under 50, $31,000 for individuals 50-59 and 64+ and $34,750 for individuals 60-63. For example, if I am covered and only contribute $8,000 per year to my account and my spouse is not covered but has additional money to save for retirement, I could increase my deferrals up to the plan limits using the amount of additional money we have to save. This strategy is helpful as it allows for easier tracking of retirement accounts and the money is automatically deducted from payroll. Also, if you are contributing pre-tax dollars, this will decrease your tax liability.
Note: Payroll deferrals must be withheld from payroll by 12/31. If you owe money when you file your taxes in April, you would not be able to go back and increase your deferrals in your company plan for that tax year.
Married Filing Jointly - One Spouse Covered by Employer Sponsored Plan and is Maxing Out
If the covered spouse is maxing out at the high limits already, you may be able to save additional pre-tax dollars depending on your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).
Below is the Traditional IRA Deductibility Table for 2025. This table shows how much individuals or married couples can earn and still deduct IRA contributions from their taxable income.
As shown in the chart, if you are married filing jointly and one spouse is covered, the couple can fully deduct IRA contributions to an account in the covered spouses name if AGI is less than $126,000 and can fully deduct IRA contributions to an account in the non-covered spouses name if AGI is less than $236,000. The Traditional IRA limits for 2025 are $7,000 if under 50 and $8,000 if 50+. These lower limits and income thresholds make contributing to company sponsor plans more attractive in most cases.
Single or Married Filing Jointly and Neither Spouse is Covered
If you (and your spouse if married filing joint) are not covered by an employer sponsored plan, you do not have an income threshold for contributing pre-tax dollars to a Traditional IRA. The only limitations you have relate to the amount you can contribute. These contribution limits for both Traditional and Roth IRA’s are $7,000 if under 50 and $8,000 if 50+. If married filing joint, each spouse can contribute up to these limits.
Unlike employer sponsored plans, your contributions to IRA’s can be made after 12/31 of that tax year as long as the contributions are in before you file your tax return.
About Rob……...
Hi, I’m Rob Mangold. I’m the Chief Operating Officer at Greenbush Financial Group and a contributor to the Money Smart Board blog. We created the blog to provide strategies that will help our readers personally , professionally, and financially. Our blog is meant to be a resource. If there are questions that you need answered, pleas feel free to join in on the discussion or contact me directly.
Changes to 2016 Tax Filing Deadlines
In 2015, a bill was passed that changed tax filing deadlines for certain IRS forms that will impact a lot of filers. Not only is it important to know the changes so you can prepare and file your return timely but to understand why the changes were made.
In 2015, a bill was passed that changed tax filing deadlines for certain IRS forms that will impact a lot of filers. Not only is it important to know the changes so you can prepare and file your return timely but to understand why the changes were made.
Summary of Changes
IRS Form Business Type Previous Deadline New Deadline
1065 Partnership April 15 March 15
1120C Corporation March 15 April 15
NOTE: The dates in the chart above are for companies with years ending 12/31. If a company has a different fiscal year, Partnerships will now file by the 15th day of the third month following year end and C Corporations will now file by the 15th day of the fourth month following year end.
Why the Changes?
The most practical reason for the change to filing deadlines is that individuals with partnership interests will now have a better opportunity to file their individual returns (Form 1040) without extending. Form K-1 provides information related to the activity of a Partnership at the level of each individual partner. For example, if I own 50% of a Partnership, my K-1 would show 50% of the income (or loss) generated, certain deductions, and any other activity needed for me to file my Form 1040. The issue with the previous Partnership return deadline of April 15th is that it coincided with the individual deadline. This resulted in partners of the company not receiving their K-1’s with sufficient time to file their personal return by April 15th. With Partnerships now having a deadline of March 15th, this will give individuals a month to receive their K-1 and file their personal return without having to extend.
The deadline for Form 1120, which is filed by C Corporations, was also changed with this bill. Where the Form 1065 deadline was cut back by a month, the Form 1120 was extended a month. C Corporations, for tax purposes, are treated similar to individuals whereas they pay taxes directly when they file their return. Partnerships are not taxed directly, rather the income or loss is passed through to each individual partner who recognizes the tax ramifications on their personal return. For this reason, the deadline for Form 1120 being extended a month has little impact, if any, on individuals. The change gives C Corporations more time to file without having to extend the return.
S Corporations are another common business type. The deadlines for S Corporation returns (Form 1120S) were not changed with this bill. S Corporations are similar to Partnerships in that K-1’s are distributed to owners and the income or loss generated is passed through to the individuals return. That being said, Form 1120S already has a due date of March 15th, the same as the new Partnership deadline.
Extension Deadlines
IRS Form Business Type Deadline
1040 Individual October 15
1065 Partnership September 15
1120 C Corporation September 15
1120S S Corporation September 15
Extension deadlines were not immediately changed with the passing of the bill. Although Partnerships previously had the same filing deadline as individuals, the deadline with the filing of an extension was a month before. This was necessary because if a Partnership did not have to file an extended return until October 15th, individuals with partnership interests wouldn’t have a choice but to file delinquent.
The one change to the extension chart above set to take place in 2026 is the C Corporation extension being changed to October 15th.
Summary
Overall, the changes appear to have improved the filing calendar. This may be a big adjustment for Partnerships that are used to the April 15th deadline as they will have one less month to get organized and file. For this reason, you may see an increase in 2016 Partnership extensions.
About Rob……...
Hi, I’m Rob Mangold. I’m the Chief Operating Officer at Greenbush Financial Group and a contributor to the Money Smart Board blog. We created the blog to provide strategies that will help our readers personally , professionally, and financially. Our blog is meant to be a resource. If there are questions that you need answered, pleas feel free to join in on the discussion or contact me directly.
