Employer Match
Free retirement money your employer adds to your contributions.
An employer match is money your company contributes to your retirement account based on what you put in — for example, matching 100% of contributions up to 5% of your salary. It is one of the highest-return opportunities in personal finance: few investments can reliably match the boost you get on the money you contribute. One caveat is vesting — some plans require you to stay employed for a few years before the employer's contributions are fully yours (your own contributions are always 100% yours). Planners still almost universally recommend contributing at least enough to capture the full match; just check your plan's vesting schedule to know when it truly belongs to you.