Thermo Fisher Scientific 401(k) match, vesting and fees
What Thermo Fisher Scientific's 401(k) plan says about matching contributions
The Company’s discretionary matching contribution is equal to 100% of the first 6% of eligible compensation for pre-tax and Roth participant contributions to the Plan; after-tax contributions are not eligible for Company matching contributions. New participants are required to complete one year of service to qualify for the Company matching contribution. The Company’s matching contribution is invested into various investment options, including investment funds and the Company’s common stock, according to the participant's investment elections. Employee contributions and the Company match are recorded on a bi-weekly basis or weekly for those employees on a weekly payroll.
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. 40 ↗ |
| Match vesting | Participants are immediately vested in their pre-tax, Roth, catch-up, and after-tax contributions, as well as rollovers of previous employers’ eligible qualified plans, and any income or losses on those balances. Participants become 100% vested in the Company’s matching contributions, plus any income or losses on those balances, after two years of service. | Audit report, p. 40 ↗ |
| Automatic enrollment | The Plan includes an auto-enrollment provision whereby all newly eligible employees (including the Fair Lawn union group as of April 1, 2024) are automatically enrolled in the Plan unless they affirmatively elect not to participate in the Plan. Automatically enrolled participants have their deferral rate set at 3% of eligible compensation and their contributions invested in a designated asset allocation trust fund until changed by the participant. | Audit report, p. 40 ↗ |
| Roth contributions | Each year participants may contribute on a combined pre-tax and Roth basis up to 75% of their eligible annual compensation to the Plan, subject to annual individual deferral limitations under the United States Internal Revenue Code (IRC). | Audit report, p. 40 ↗ |
| Loans | Participants may borrow from their account balance a minimum of $1,000 up to a maximum equal to the lesser of $50,000 or 50% of their vested account balance. The loans are secured by the balance in the participant’s account, with terms generally up to five years except when use of the proceeds is for the purchase of a primary residence, for which terms can be up to 30 years. The loan interest rate, determined as of the beginning of each calendar month, is set at one percentage point above the prime rate as established in the Wall Street Journal. The interest rates on existing loans ranged from 3.25% to 9.75% at December 31, 2024 and 2023. | Audit report, p. 41 ↗ |
| Recordkeeper | Fidelity Investments Institutional | Schedule C ↗ |
| Independent auditor | Pricewaterhousecoopers LLC (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 37 defined-contribution plans with 50,000 or more participants.
| Thermo Fisher Scientific: employer contribution per participant | $3,900 | |
| Peer median | $2,100 |
| Thermo Fisher Scientific: average balance | $150,104 | |
| Peer median | $77,284 |
| Thermo Fisher Scientific: admin expenses ÷ assets | 0.02% | |
| Peer median | 0.05% |
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 $7.5B at the end of plan year 2023 to $10.3B at the end of plan year 2024.
| Plan year | Participants | Assets | Employer contributions | Per participant | Admin expense ratio | Match formula | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 72,605 | $10.3B | $267M | $3,900 | 0.02% | Quoted in the audit report, p. 40 ↗ | Form 5500 ↗ |
| 2023 | 52,601 | $7.5B | $210M | $4,072 | 0.02% | Not published | Form 5500 ↗ |
Other Thermo Fisher Scientific plans (1)
Each plan files its own Form 5500. Figures are from each plan's latest filing.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Retirement Plan
Plan features
Match, vesting and enrollment details have not been published from this plan's audit report yet. The figures below come from the structured filing.
| Recordkeeper | Aon Hewitt Consulting, Inc | Schedule C ↗ |
| Independent auditor | Pricewaterhousecoopers, LLP (unmodified opinion, limited scope) | Schedule H ↗ |
| Plan type and status | Pension (defined benefit) · Frozen | Form 5500 ↗ |
Common questions
Does Thermo Fisher Scientific match 401(k) contributions?
The audit report attached to the Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 401(k) Retirement Plan's plan year 2024 Form 5500, page 40 says: “The Company’s discretionary matching contribution is equal to 100% of the first 6% of eligible compensation for pre-tax and Roth participant contributions to the Plan; after-tax contributions are not eligible for Company matching contributions. New participants are required to complete one year of service to qualify for the Company matching contribution. The Company’s matching contribution is invested into various investment options, including investment funds and the Company’s common stock, according to the participant's investment elections. Employee contributions and the Company match are recorded on a bi-weekly basis or weekly for those employees on a weekly payroll.” Plan terms may have changed; check your current Summary Plan Description.
When is the Thermo Fisher Scientific 401(k) match vested?
The audit report attached to the plan year 2024 Form 5500, page 40 says: “Participants are immediately vested in their pre-tax, Roth, catch-up, and after-tax contributions, as well as rollovers of previous employers’ eligible qualified plans, and any income or losses on those balances. Participants become 100% vested in the Company’s matching contributions, plus any income or losses on those balances, after two years of service.”
Who manages the Thermo Fisher Scientific 401(k)?
The recordkeeper listed on Schedule C of the plan year 2024 filing is Fidelity Investments Institutional. The plan administrator is Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc..
I left Thermo Fisher Scientific. How do I find my old 401(k)?
Your account stays in the plan until you move it. Contact the plan administrator (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., (781) 622-1000) or the recordkeeper, Fidelity Investments Institutional. The Thermo Fisher Scientific old 401(k) page lists the contacts from every plan filing. Find an old Thermo Fisher Scientific 401(k)
Data from the public Form 5500 annual reports Thermo Fisher Scientific 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 Thermo Fisher Scientific. Not financial advice. Report a correction · Methodology