<prompt> Human: Emailed my employer to get some info on the 401k plans, specifically, the max annual contribution and their match . Here was the response.The max contribution limit for 2015 is 18,000. While we dont match employee contribution dollar for dollar, there is a formula that is used to determine how much to contribute to employees. As I recall from last year, the match total was divided among eligible employees based on a matching formula which is approximately 15.98 of the first 1000 deferred into the plan. This means for an employee who contributed at least 1k in a year, their share of the matching contribution is 159.85. I am a bit confused about the part where they say the total was divided among eligible employees. Also, typically, what are the percentages once you go above 1k? Does this mean the matching stops there?Thanks for your help!  <response>: what it probably means is that they allocate a given amount of money to dump into the 401k plan, and then divide it among employees who participate in the plan based on some formula. what the formula is is anybodys guess.and yes, it probably tops out at 1000, based on his wording.in other words, its a pretty crappy, confusing system. but youd have to look at the actual plan docs to see.on a normal 401k plan, youll see the employer match, say, 100 of your contributions, dollar for dollar, up to, say, 3 of your income. so if you make 100k, and you contribute 3000, they kick in another 3000. if you contribute more than that, it reduces your tax burden but they dont add any more money.some employers will only match 50, so youd have to contribute, say, 6000 to get 3000, but its still worth doing.by your description and i have no idea if your understanding is at all correct or not, the employer match on this one really, really blows. 