vickystamford

Update: 3 weeks after messing up my 2 paychecks, my company deposited the missing employer match as QNEC in my 401k account. At first the Benefits Team sent me an email template about missing pre tax contribution but nothing about after tax contribution. So I had to follow up with them again. I guess only a tiny portion of people make after tax contribution and the Benefits are not familiar with it at all. Then they sent me another template, basically saying "Oops we messed up but too bad. We are sorry but nothing we can do. We will NOT lift 50% after tax contribution limit and you CANNOT make up these 2 missed after tax contributions. You can increase your pre tax % or contribute to roth 401k." Excuse me?! Pre tax or Roth 401k are different animals, ok?! To answer your questions - Yes, I am contributing to after tax 401k (not Roth 401k) and doing in-plan conversion to my Roth IRA. And yes, instead of "pretty sure", I am 200% sure that I am nowhere near any IRS limit (pre tax $18000, pre tax + roth + after tax + employer match $54000). My contributions have been working for several pay cycles but suddenly something went wrong... One more question - Should I say "ok. thank you." to my Benefits Team and let it go? Or send IRS link to them and say "Not done yet. You guys owe me 40%"? Thank you!

Yes, I agree with you. When this happened, my first reaction to make up my after tax contribution was "I could write a check to my company and then they deposit to my 401k account on behalf of me". I am not a Benefit expert and knew nothing about all IRS regulations. I am contributing 13% pre tax and 50% after tax to 401k, plus tax withholding, Medical and Dental etc. Really not much left in my each pay check (a few hundred dollars). The highest percentage allowed for after tax 401k contribution in my company is 50%. In July I just learnt the benefits of after tax contribution therefore I would like to catch up for the rest of this year. If my employer allows after tax contribution higher than 50%, I don't mind taking even less home in my paycheck.

Thank you all for the reply. What about after-tax 401k contribution? Am I simply "missing" the 2 opportunities for after tax contribution?

Hi, My situation is a little complicated and really appreciate your help - I have been contributing 13% pre tax and 50% after tax to my 401k for a while. Suddenly, my employer failed to withhold my 401k pre and after tax amount on 9/7 payday. Also I lost 6% pre tax employer match. I let my HR know 9/7 immediately; they admitted that it was their error but are still working on the solution. The next payday is 9/21. The pay statement showed up in ADP account 9/19. They withheld 13% pre tax but did not withhold 50% after tax. I am pretty sure that I haven't reached any IRS annual limit for 401k contribution this year. I have questions as below - Because of the high contribution %, especially after tax contribution, it will be hard for employer to withhold more in my future paycheck this year to correct the errors. What can they do? Is there any IRS regulation about employer failing to withhold after tax 401k contribution? Thank you.