Ghirardelli Chocolate 401(k) match, vesting and fees
What Ghirardelli Chocolate's 401(k) plan says about matching contributions
The Plan allows for an employer discretionary matching contribution and an employer discretionary contribution subject to certain eligibility requirements. For the year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company matched 100% of a participant’s salary deferrals up to a maximum of 6% of eligible compensation. In 2024, the total discretionary matching contribution was $3,600,186 of which $239,901 was funded by forfeitures and $164,238 was a receivable as of December 31, 2024 and was paid in 2025. In 2023, the total discretionary matching contribution was $3,279,512 of which $164,730 was funded by forfeitures and $212,316 was a receivable as of December 31, 2023 and was paid in 2024.
Quoted directly from the filing. Plan terms may have changed; check your current Summary Plan Description.
Plan features
Indented passages are quoted word for word from the audit report; plan terms may have changed since, so check your current Summary Plan Description.
| Employer match | Quoted from the filing above | 2024 audit report, p. 32 ↗ |
| Match vesting | Vesting - Participants are 100% vested in their contributions, rollover amounts and additional non-safe harbor non-elective contribution plus actual earnings thereon. Vesting in the discretionary matching contributions, discretionary contributions, and earnings is based on years of credited service at the rate of 20% per year and full vesting after five years. Participants become fully vested in the event of death, disability, retirement age, or plan termination. | 2024 audit report, p. 32 ↗ |
| Automatic enrollment | The Plan allows for automatic enrollment for eligible employees as defined in plan documents with a deferral rate of 6% which is increased by 1% each year until it reaches a maximum of 10% of eligible compensation, unless the employee elects differently. | 2024 audit report, p. 31 ↗ |
| Roth contributions | The Plan allows for ROTH deferral contributions. | 2024 audit report, p. 31 ↗ |
| Loans | Notes Receivable from Participants - Participants may borrow from their fund accounts a minimum of $1,000 up to a maximum of $50,000 or 50% of their vested account balance, whichever is less. | 2024 audit report, p. 32 ↗ |
| Recordkeeper | Principal Life Insurance Company | 2025 Schedule C ↗ |
| Independent auditor | Silicon Valley Accountacy Corp. (unmodified opinion, limited scope) | 2025 Schedule H ↗ |
| Plan type and status | 401(k) · Active | 2025 Form 5500 ↗ |
Match, vesting and other plan features are from the plan year 2024 filing's audit report (the latest one extracted so far). Rows cited to the Form 5500 and its schedules are from the plan year 2025 filing.
How the plan compares
Plan year 2025 medians for 434 defined-contribution plans in manufacturing with 1,000 to 4,999 participants.
| Ghirardelli Chocolate: employer contribution per participant | $4,108 | |
| Peer median | $2,591 |
| Ghirardelli Chocolate: average balance | $121,807 | |
| Peer median | $102,504 |
| Ghirardelli Chocolate: admin expenses ÷ assets | 0.15% | |
| Peer median | 0.11% |
Admin expenses are the plan's reported administrative expenses divided by its assets; they do not include fund expense ratios.
Plan history
Plan assets went from $86.3M at the end of plan year 2021 to $138M at the end of plan year 2025.
| Plan year | Participants | Assets | Employer contributions | Per participant | Admin expense ratio | Match formula | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,194 | $138M | $4.7M | $4,108 | 0.15% | Not published | Form 5500 ↗ |
| 2024 | 1,179 | $116M | $4.4M | $3,900 | 0.16% | Quoted in the audit report, p. 32 ↗ | Form 5500 ↗ |
| 2023 | 1,132 | $96.3M | $4.3M | $4,016 | 0.18% | Not published | Form 5500 ↗ |
| 2022 | 1,098 | $78.5M | $3.9M | $3,709 | 0.17% | Not published | Form 5500 ↗ |
| 2021 | 1,157 | $86.3M | $3.4M | $3,114 | 0.20% | Not published | Form 5500 ↗ |
Common questions
Does Ghirardelli Chocolate match 401(k) contributions?
The audit report attached to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company 401(k) Retirement & Savings Plan's plan year 2024 Form 5500, page 32 says: “The Plan allows for an employer discretionary matching contribution and an employer discretionary contribution subject to certain eligibility requirements. For the year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company matched 100% of a participant’s salary deferrals up to a maximum of 6% of eligible compensation. In 2024, the total discretionary matching contribution was $3,600,186 of which $239,901 was funded by forfeitures and $164,238 was a receivable as of December 31, 2024 and was paid in 2025. In 2023, the total discretionary matching contribution was $3,279,512 of which $164,730 was funded by forfeitures and $212,316 was a receivable as of December 31, 2023 and was paid in 2024.” Plan terms may have changed; check your current Summary Plan Description.
When is the Ghirardelli Chocolate 401(k) match vested?
The audit report attached to the plan year 2024 Form 5500, page 32 says: “Vesting - Participants are 100% vested in their contributions, rollover amounts and additional non-safe harbor non-elective contribution plus actual earnings thereon. Vesting in the discretionary matching contributions, discretionary contributions, and earnings is based on years of credited service at the rate of 20% per year and full vesting after five years. Participants become fully vested in the event of death, disability, retirement age, or plan termination.”
Who manages the Ghirardelli Chocolate 401(k)?
The recordkeeper listed on Schedule C of the plan year 2025 filing is Principal Life Insurance Company. The plan administrator is Ghirardelli Chocolate Company.
I left Ghirardelli Chocolate. How do I find my old 401(k)?
Your account stays in the plan until you move it. Contact the plan administrator (Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, (510) 297-2670) or the recordkeeper, Principal Life Insurance Company. The Ghirardelli Chocolate old 401(k) page lists the contacts from every plan filing. Find an old Ghirardelli Chocolate 401(k)
Data from the public Form 5500 annual reports Ghirardelli Chocolate filed with the U.S. Department of Labor (plan years 2021 and 2022 and 2023 and 2024 and 2025) and, where noted, the attached independent auditor's report. Plan terms may have changed since the filing; check your current Summary Plan Description. PlanFacts is not affiliated with Ghirardelli Chocolate. Not financial advice. Report a correction · Methodology