Employer Match

Money an employer adds to an employee's retirement account in proportion to the employee's own contributions, up to a limit.

Example

An employer matching 100% of contributions up to 5% of a 50,000 salary adds up to 2,500 a year.

It is a return that does not depend on markets, so contributions that earn a full match are usually the highest-return money an employee invests.

Vesting Schedule — The timetable over which employer contributions or equity become fully owned by an employee.
Tax wrapper — An account or structure that changes how the assets inside it are taxed, without changing the assets themselves.

The account is a wrapper; what you hold inside it is a separate decision — A retirement account is a legal container with tax rules and access limits. It is not an investment itself, and the choice of wrapper and the choice of holdings are two different decisions. (9 min)
Three sources: employer money, tax saved, and compounding left alone — Returns inside a retirement account come from the investments, plus two things outside the market: employer contributions and the tax that is not taken each year. (11 min)
Is this account right for you: match, fees, choices and when you can touch the money — Evaluating a retirement account means checking five things: employer money, the fees inside it, the investments available, the access rules, and what happens if you change jobs. (11 min)
The long-term core of most plans, after the money you might need sooner — For most people, tax-advantaged retirement accounts hold the long-term part of their savings, but only after money for emergencies and nearer goals is set aside elsewhere. (9 min)