I did max out 401k but last year I spread it out to 24 paychecks this year I only spread it in the first 2.5 months (5 paychecks).I am wondering which one do you choose? And why? With spreading to 24 paychecks seems like DCA I can cover whole year price of vtsax under the hood. With 2nd option I need to worry about short paycheck in the first 2.5 months after that I am free.
Employer match at my company is per pay period. I must spread it out evenly across 26 pay periods to receive full matching funds.
Have to spread it out here the rest don't get the employer match.
Spreading it out over the full year basically amounts to dollar cost averaging into the markets. Some companies (like google) allow you to use your bonus at the beginning of the year for 401k and receive the match, which is lump sum investing. You can pick based on risk tolerance but after a decade long bull run I personally prefer the dollar cost averaging.
Another reason for many to avoid lump sum is if you have a property and/or income tax bill due in the spring. However lump sum also gives you greater advantage if you happen to leave the company before the end of the year.
Amazon does a "true up" at the end of year, if you don't spread out contributions. I max out first few months into the year and not worry about it later.
I spread it out over the whole year. Unless I think I'm going to leave the company, in which case I front-load to make sure I get full matching before I quit, and then try to double-dip and also max out on matching at my new company.
What do you mean by double dip? Aren't you only allowed to contribute up to the federal limit? $19k this year I think? So if all your contributions are with the first company, I don't think you can contribute another $19k with the second company
Company matching isn’t included in the 19k limit
In some cases the only way to max out the employer match is to spread it out. There’s a cap each pay period.
Bingo. Employer match is usually limited to a percentage of the current paycheck. If you stop contributions to 401k you loose the match (i.e. free money)