It appears that the optimum yearly contribution for you to make in order to maximize the money your employer will contribute and not exceed the employee IRS limit on contributions is 22.00%(rounded down to nearest whole percentage). Although this contribution percentage allows you to maximize your employer match, in certain situations you may not meet the annual IRS contribution limit. The table below illustrates the impact of changing your contribution rate. If you reach the IRS limit before the end of the calendar year, be sure to review your plan document to determine if your plan matches after-tax contributions as well. <div id="chart1Container">Chart will load here</div> <script type="text/javascript"> <!-- var myChart1 = new FusionCharts( "StackedColumn2D", "myChart1Id", "100%", "100%", "0", "1" ); myChart1.setXMLData("<chart showValues='0' showFCMenuItem='0' decimals='0' formatNumberScale='0' reverseLegend='1' caption='Maximizing the 401(k) Match' xAxisName='Employee Contribution Percentage (%)' numberPrefix='$' bgColor='FFFFFF' showBorder='1' borderColor='FFFFFF' borderThickness='1' canvasBgColor='ffffff' showAlternateHGridColor='0' plotGradientColor='' numberSuffix='' thousandSeparator=',' decimalSeparator='.'><categories><category label='19%' /><category label='20%' /><category label='21%' /><category label='22%' /><category label='23%' /><category label='24%' /><category label='25%' /></categories><dataset seriesName='Employer Match'><set value='4280.0' /><set value='4280.0' /><set value='4280.0' /><set value='4280.0' /><set value='4280.0' /><set value='4115.0' /><set value='3951.0' /></dataset><dataset seriesName='Your Contribution'><set value='20330.0' /><set value='21400.0' /><set value='22470.0' /><set value='23540.0' /><set value='24500.0' /><set value='24500.0' /><set value='24500.0' /></dataset></chart>"); // --> </script> <table class='pure-table pure-table-bordered' role='grid'><tr><th scope="col">Your Contribution (%)</th><th scope="col">Your Contribution ($)</th><th scope="col">Employer Contribution (%)</th><th scope="col">Employer Contribution ($)</th><th scope="col">Total Contribution ($)</th><th scope="col">Employer Contribution (% of total)</th></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">19.0%</td><td>$20,330</td><td>4.0%</td><td>$4,280</td><td>$24,610</td><td>17.4%</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">20.0%</td><td>21,400</td><td>4.0%</td><td>4,280</td><td>25,680</td><td>16.7%</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">21.0%</td><td>22,470</td><td>4.0%</td><td>4,280</td><td>26,750</td><td>16.0%</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row"><b>22.0%</b></td><td><b>23,540</b></td><td><b>4.0%</b></td><td><b>4,280</b></td><td><b>27,820</b></td><td><b>15.4%</b></td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">23.0%</td><td>24,500</td><td>4.0%</td><td>4,280</td><td>28,780</td><td>14.9%</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">24.0%</td><td>24,500</td><td>3.8%</td><td>4,115</td><td>28,615</td><td>14.4%</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">25.0%</td><td>24,500</td><td>3.7%</td><td>3,951</td><td>28,451</td><td>13.9%</td></tr></table>