Welcome to your onboarding journey.
Participating in your employer's 401(k) plan can set you up for financial success in the future.
As each employee's onboarding journey is different, this article outlines the steps of enrollment and what to expect from the process.
Why Should You Enroll in a 401(k) Plan?
- It's Easy: Enrollment only takes a couple of minutes, and once set up, retirement accounts are generally low maintenance.
- Employer Contributions: Your employer may offer a matching contribution that will be deposited into your account automatically.
- Tax Breaks: 401(k) pre-tax contributions allow you to defer funds from your salary before taxes are taken out—also reducing your taxable income.
- Your Future is Important: Saving now helps you achieve financial security for the future.
- Compound Interest: As your money grows, you'll be earning interest upon interest—and that adds up fast.
Learn more about the Benefits of Enrolling and Saving in My Retirement Plan.
New Plans
Depending on your company's specific 401(k) plan, there are certain qualifications that an employee needs to meet in order to be eligible to participate in the plan. Before you start your enrollment, it's important to learn about the different ways to fund your 401(k) and determine how much to contribute. Check out the articles and videos in our Retirement 101 section to learn about plan specifics such as vesting and automatic enrollment.
How Do I Setup My 401(k) Account?
- Register your account: You will receive an email from J.P. Morgan inviting you to register for your retirement plan. You can also register at https://jpmorgan.vestwell.com/register.
- Set up your account: If you have registered after February 5th, 2024, you will be prompted to set up your contributions, add your beneficiary, and choose your investment strategy.
- Navigate through your J.P. Morgan Portal: Learn how to navigate through your J.P. Morgan Saver portal.
- Set your deferral rate: Choose how much you want to contribute (pre-tax and/or Roth) from your salary.
- Choose your investment strategy: Your plan may provide you with different investment options. If applicable, choose your investment strategy.
- Designate a beneficiary: Select and add your beneficiary through your portal.
You are all set! From here, log in to your account regularly to watch your investments grow.
Conversion Plans
If your 401(k) account is under a different provider and your employer has recently transitioned to J.P. Morgan, your plan will be converted.
During the transfer of assets, you will receive a notification from J.P. Morgan 30 or more days before the effective date of the change. Enrollment instructions for your new J.P. Morgan account will be provided.
There is also a short period of time where certain activities and transactions are paused until the transfer of assets is completed. This period is called a blackout period.
During the conversion process, J.P. Morgan will notify and provide timelines regarding when assets will be liquidated.
Blackout Period
To ensure an orderly transition, the following activities in your account may be temporarily restricted:
- Changing which fund you invest your money in
- Updating/changing your deferral amount (how much of each paycheck you are contributing towards the plan)
- Changing the address on your account
- Making unscheduled loan payments beyond your payment amount
- Requesting in-service and out-of-service withdrawals or distributions, if applicable
- Requesting rollovers from other accounts
- Requesting loans of hardships, if applicable
What Steps Do I Need to Take?
As a saver, it's important to review notifications relating to the plan so you can be aware of the timeframe for the conversion. Once your plan has fully converted to the J.P. Morgan platform, enrollment information and steps to setting up your new account will be sent.
If you have any questions, please contact us at everyday401k.help@vestwell.com.