Personal Finance

I was laid off 9 days before becoming fully vested in my 401(k) — what are my options?

Aaron Webber

Published: December 28, 2024 9:30 am

Corporations have no loyalty toward their employees. They do not see you as human, only as numbers on a spreadsheet that can be manipulated to make the profit numbers go up. No matter what they say, a company will squeeze you for every ounce of your worth before dumping you on the side of the road once you stop being useful. Unfortunately, one person realized this too late.

One unfortunate Reddit user learned this the hard way after learning they had been fired just days before their 401(k) would vest. They took their concerns to the r/personalfinance community and asked for advice on what they could do. Here is what they said.

Please remember that any advice you find online, especially on Reddit, and including this article, are opinions. You should always talk with an expert before making any legal decisions regarding your employment.

The Question

The author of the post in question was laid off in 2023 just nine days away from two years with the company, which is the point at which their company 401(k) plan would be fully vested. As a result, they will lose $15,000 in unvested funds. They said they reached out to the company’s HR department which has ignored them so far. They asked the community for advice and help.

The Community Response

One of the most common responses was from people reminding the author that HR is not their ally. HR departments exist to protect the company, not the employee, and they will do anything and everything to help the company and protect their own jobs. As a result, some commenters recommended reaching out directly to the 401(k) custodian to see when the plan actually vests, since the company and the custodian actually measure “year” in different ways. For example, custodians usually count years as a number of hours worked, not necessarily calendar year, so the author could have already passed their vesting date.

It’s best to get actual details before moving forward.

Another recommendation was to simply ask the company to keep them on the payroll (even without actually being paid) until the vesting date. It was a long-shot recommendation, but it was worth asking.

Many people recommended asking the company for the official 401(k) documentation, and negotiating the use of stored PTO or termination date before signing any severance agreement.

Beyond this and some edge cases that might change the situation, there was nothing the employee could do besides speak to the NLRB for advice.

At the end of the day, in America a company can terminate an employee for almost any reason and at any time, even if that reason is obviously to avoid vesting the 401(k) and ruining someone’s retirement, and there’s not much people can do to prevent it. Almost all commenters agreed that the author should document everything and get a copy of all communication in case it needs to be used later.