aireadylife-benefits-op-401k-reviewlisted

## What It Does Runs monthly to ensure your 401k is capturing every employer match dollar available and tracking toward the IRS annual limit at an appropriate pace. The 401k is the highest-return investment most employees have access to — the employer match component is a guaranteed 50-100% return before any market performance, and the tax-deferred compounding over decades is the engine of retirement wealth. Missing match dollars or under-contributing for multiple months creates compounding shortfalls that are hard to recover from. **Match capture check:** Reads your current contribution rate from `vault/benefits/00_current/` and calculates whether it meets or exceeds the threshold required to capture the full employer match. For a common employer structure (50% match on up to 6% of salary), the required employee contribution is 6% — anything below this leaves match money on the table. Calculates the exact dollar amount being forfeited per pay period if contribution rate is insufficient. **YTD vs. IRS limit tracking:** The 2025 employee contribution limit is $23,500 (plus $7,500 catch-up for age 50+). Tracks YTD contributions against this limit and projects the year-end total at the current contribution rate. Two risk scenarios: (1) under-contributing — on pace to end the year well short of the limit, leaving tax-deferred space unused; (2) over-contributing to front-load (some high earners max out early in the year) — if the employer match is calculated per-paycheck rather