<prompt> Human: My employer match on my 401k contribution is 3k if i fully use it. However, I am told that there is a max of 17,500 that I can legally contribute yearly to the fund. Does this mean that the most I can contribute is 14500, so after the match a total of 17500 is contributed. Or does it mean that I can still contribute 17500 and after the match, 20500 will be contributed?I would like to contribute as much as possible to my 401k, so I would prefer to have 20500 going to it every year  <response>: The employer match is not counted in the 17,500 limit. The total limit, personal employer contributions, is 51,000 in 2013. 