If your employer offered you a raise and the only condition was filling in one form, you would fill in the form today.
Anyone contributing below their plan's match threshold is turning that raise down.
The numbers on a $60,000 salary
On a $60,000 salary with a 5% match, contributing 3% leaves $1,200 a year of employer money on the table. That's $12,000 over ten years, before any growth.
And closing the gap costs less than it looks. In Alberta, about $860 less take-home pay a year puts $2,400 into your account.
Not a real trade-off
Most financial decisions are real trade-offs. The employer match isn't one of them.
Three months left in the year. Worth five minutes this week.
Brian Prokop, P.Eng., CFA, is CEO, Ultimate Designated Person, Chief Compliance Officer and an Advising Representative of LINK Plan Management Inc., a registered portfolio manager and wholly owned subsidiary of LINK Investment Management Inc. General information only: not investment, tax or legal advice, and not specific to your situation. Confirm your own plan details with your administrator.