Hershey Entertainment & Resorts 401(k) match, vesting and fees

Participants receive a 50% Company match of the first 6% of pretax eligible compensation that a participant contributes to the Plan. Beginning January 1, 2014, in addition to matching contributions, the Company will contribute 3% of eligible compensation to the participant’s 401K account as a non-elective contribution. Both matching contributions and non-elective contributions are discretionary and are deposited into participants’ accounts biweekly. Participants are eligible for a Company match immediately upon enrollment in the Plan.

Participants are immediately vested in their deferral, rollover contributions and the employer qualified, non-elective contribution plus actual earnings thereon. Effective January 1, 2019, a participant is fully vested in the employer match contribution portion of his or her accounts, plus actual earnings thereon, after 24 months of service. Employees hired prior to January 1, 2019, will be grandfathered into the prior vesting terms. Previously, a participant was fully vested in the employer match contribution portion of his or her accounts, plus actual earnings thereon, after 18 months of service. A participant is fully vested in the employer company contribution portion of his or her accounts, plus actual earnings thereon, after 36 months of service.

Beginning January 1, 2014, the Plan has a 3% automatic deferral upon eligibility along with an annual automatic escalation feature. Under automatic escalation, participant’s deferral percentage will be increased 1% per year until they reach a deferral rate of 6%. Participants are provided with the option of changing their deferral percentages under both the automatic enrollment and automatic escalation features if they choose to do so.

Participants may borrow from their fund accounts a minimum of $500 up to a maximum equal to the lesser of $50,000 or 50% of their vested account balance. Borrowings are secured by the balance in the participant's account and bear interest at the prime lending rate plus 1%, which is commensurate with the local prevailing rates as determined quarterly by the plan administrator. At December 31, 2024 and 2023, all interest rates on outstanding loans range from 4.25% to 9.50%.