Sephora USA 401(k) match, vesting and fees
What Sephora USA's 401(k) plan says about matching contributions
• Sephora Basic Matching Contribution – For every dollar a participant contributes, Sephora makes a basic matching contribution on a payroll-by-payroll basis up to 4.0% of the participant’s basic compensation. By virtue of the matching contributions, the Plan is intended to be a safe harbor plan. • Sephora Discretionary Matching Contribution – Sephora may, at its sole discretion, make a discretionary matching contribution on behalf of each participant who remains an eligible employee on the last day of the plan year, equal to a percentage of the participant’s employee pre-tax contributions. No discretionary matching contribution was made 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 | Audit report, p. 43 ↗ |
| Match vesting | Participants in the Plan are immediately vested in their elective contributions, Sephora’s Basic Matching and Discretionary Matching Contributions plus actual earnings thereon. Participants’ accounts that do not become fully vested under the circumstances described above will be forfeited. Forfeitures are applied to reduce the amount of contributions otherwise payable by Sephora. At December 31, 2024 and 2023, the amount of unallocated forfeitures available to offset future Sephora contributions was $246,597 and $236,399, respectively. During 2024, no forfeitures were used for administrative expenses. | Audit report, p. 45 ↗ |
| Automatic enrollment | Eligible employees hired after June 30, 2008 are automatically enrolled in the Plan unless they enroll in the Plan within 180 days of their hire date or elect not to participate in the Plan and notify Fidelity Investment Institutional Operations Company, Inc. 2.0% of their basic compensation will be contributed to the Plan as pre-tax contributions. Effective January 1, 2018, participants who were auto-enrolled in the Plan shall be deemed to increase their annual pre-tax contributions by 1.0% on an annual basis until the elective deferral equals 4% of their basic compensation provided that the rate of contribution does not exceed that otherwise permitted by the Code. The automatic increase will not apply for participants who elect no annual pre-tax contribution increases. | Audit report, p. 44 ↗ |
| Roth contributions | • Participants may make pre-tax or Roth after-tax contributions to the Plan. Participants may contribute any whole percentage of their basic compensation up to 100.0%. However, the Internal Revenue Code (Code) limits the total amount of pre-tax and Roth contributions allowed per year. | Audit report, p. 44 ↗ |
| Loans | Active participants may be eligible to borrow a minimum of $1,000 up to the lesser of $50,000 or 50.0% of their elective contribution and Sephora’s Matching account balances. There are two types of loans available to participants, general and home loans. | Audit report, p. 45 ↗ |
| Recordkeeper | Fidelity Investments Institutional | Schedule C ↗ |
| Independent auditor | Miller Kaplan, Arase & Co., LLP (unmodified opinion) | Schedule H ↗ |
| Plan type and status | 401(k) · Active | Form 5500 ↗ |
All rows are from the plan year 2024 filing; plan features from its audit report.
How the plan compares
Plan year 2024 medians for 87 defined-contribution plans in retail trade with 10,000 to 49,999 participants.
| Sephora USA: employer contribution per participant | $971 | |
| Peer median | $1,215 |
| Sephora USA: average balance | $23,246 | |
| Peer median | $48,539 |
| Sephora USA: admin expenses ÷ assets | 0.22% | |
| Peer median | 0.12% |
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 $490M at the end of plan year 2023 to $600M at the end of plan year 2024.
| Plan year | Participants | Assets | Employer contributions | Per participant | Admin expense ratio | Match formula | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 32,767 | $600M | $25.1M | $971 | 0.22% | Quoted in the audit report, p. 43 ↗ | Form 5500 ↗ |
| 2023 | 24,602 | $490M | $20.5M | $902 | 0.04% | Not published | Form 5500 ↗ |
Common questions
Does Sephora USA match 401(k) contributions?
The audit report attached to the Sephora Retirement Plan's plan year 2024 Form 5500, page 43 says: “• Sephora Basic Matching Contribution – For every dollar a participant contributes, Sephora makes a basic matching contribution on a payroll-by-payroll basis up to 4.0% of the participant’s basic compensation. By virtue of the matching contributions, the Plan is intended to be a safe harbor plan. • Sephora Discretionary Matching Contribution – Sephora may, at its sole discretion, make a discretionary matching contribution on behalf of each participant who remains an eligible employee on the last day of the plan year, equal to a percentage of the participant’s employee pre-tax contributions. No discretionary matching contribution was made in 2024.” Plan terms may have changed; check your current Summary Plan Description.
When is the Sephora USA 401(k) match vested?
The audit report attached to the plan year 2024 Form 5500, page 45 says: “Participants in the Plan are immediately vested in their elective contributions, Sephora’s Basic Matching and Discretionary Matching Contributions plus actual earnings thereon. Participants’ accounts that do not become fully vested under the circumstances described above will be forfeited. Forfeitures are applied to reduce the amount of contributions otherwise payable by Sephora. At December 31, 2024 and 2023, the amount of unallocated forfeitures available to offset future Sephora contributions was $246,597 and $236,399, respectively. During 2024, no forfeitures were used for administrative expenses.”
Who manages the Sephora USA 401(k)?
The recordkeeper listed on Schedule C of the plan year 2024 filing is Fidelity Investments Institutional. The plan administrator is Sephora USA Inc..
I left Sephora USA. How do I find my old 401(k)?
Your account stays in the plan until you move it. Contact the plan administrator (Sephora USA Inc., (415) 284-3300) or the recordkeeper, Fidelity Investments Institutional. The Sephora USA old 401(k) page lists the contacts from every plan filing. Find an old Sephora USA 401(k)
Data from the public Form 5500 annual reports Sephora USA filed with the U.S. Department of Labor (plan years 2023 and 2024) 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 Sephora USA. Not financial advice. Report a correction · Methodology