Walmart 401(k) match, vesting and fees
What Walmart's 401(k) plan says about matching contributions
Each eligible employee may begin receiving matching contributions on the first day of the month after completing at least 1,000 hours of service in a consecutive 12-month period commencing on date of hire (or during any subsequent Plan year). The Company match is 100% of deferrals up to 6% of each participant's eligible wages for the Plan year. Company matching contributions are contributed to the Plan each payroll period and are calculated based on each participant's cumulative compensation and cumulative elective and catch-up contributions through such payroll period. Rollover contributions into the Plan are not eligible for a Company matching contribution.
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 | 2023 audit report, p. 34 ↗ |
| Match vesting | Participants are immediately vested in all elective, catch-up, rollover, Company matching and qualified non-elective contributions. A participant's profit sharing contribution account shall vest based on years of service at a rate of 20% per year from years two through six and may become fully vested upon participant retirement at age 65 or above, total and permanent disability, or death. | 2023 audit report, p. 34 ↗ |
| Roth contributions | Eligible employees may elect to contribute up to 50% of their eligible wages as either pretax or Roth deferrals, but are not required to contribute to the Plan. | 2023 audit report, p. 34 ↗ |
| Loans | Participants may borrow from their fund accounts a minimum of $1,000 up to the lesser of (a) $50,000 or (b) 50% of their vested account balance. The administrative loan origination fee of $50 per general loan, and $95 per residential loan is paid by the participant and is deducted from the proceeds of the loan. Participants may only have one general purpose loan and one residential loan outstanding at any time. Loan terms range from one to five years for general purpose loans and one to 15 years for residential loans. The loans are secured by the balance in the participant's account and bear fixed interest at the prime rate on the last day of the month preceding the month in which the loan is processed for payment, plus 1%. Generally, payments of principal and interest on the loan will be deducted from an employee's regular pay in equal amounts each pay period beginning with the first pay period following the date of the loan. | 2023 audit report, p. 35 ↗ |
| Recordkeeper | Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner Smith I | 2025 Schedule C ↗ |
| Independent auditor | Ernst & Young, LLP (unmodified opinion) | 2025 Schedule H ↗ |
| Plan type and status | 401(k) · Active | 2025 Form 5500 ↗ |
Match, vesting and other plan features are from the plan year 2023 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 40 defined-contribution plans with 50,000 or more participants.
| Walmart: employer contribution per participant | $1,579 | |
| Peer median | $2,694 |
| Walmart: average balance | $49,287 | |
| Peer median | $150,340 |
| Walmart: admin expenses ÷ assets | 0.08% | |
| Peer median | 0.03% |
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 $38.4B at the end of plan year 2021 to $59B at the end of plan year 2025.
| Plan year | Participants | Assets | Employer contributions | Per participant | Admin expense ratio | Match formula | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,996,659 | $59B | $1.9B | $1,579 | 0.08% | Not published | Form 5500 ↗ |
| 2024 | 1,970,230 | $50.7B | $1.8B | $1,572 | 0.09% | Not published | Form 5500 ↗ |
| 2023 | 1,921,006 | $41.5B | $1.6B | $1,456 | 0.09% | Quoted in the audit report, p. 34 ↗ | Form 5500 ↗ |
| 2022 | 1,881,721 | $36.7B | $1.5B | $1,414 | 0.09% | Not published | Form 5500 ↗ |
| 2021 | 1,946,270 | $38.4B | $1.4B | $1,365 | 0.09% | Not published | Form 5500 ↗ |
Other Walmart plans (2)
Each plan files its own Form 5500. Figures are from each plan's latest filing.
Walmart Puerto Rico 401(k) 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 | Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner Smith | Schedule C ↗ |
| Independent auditor | Ernst & Young, LLP (unmodified opinion) | Schedule H ↗ |
| Plan type and status | 401(k) · Active | Form 5500 ↗ |
Jet.Com Retirement Trust
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.
| Independent auditor | Hogantaylor LLP (unmodified opinion, limited scope) | Schedule H ↗ |
| Plan type and status | 401(k) · Active | Form 5500 ↗ |
Common questions
Does Walmart match 401(k) contributions?
The audit report attached to the Walmart 401(k) Plan's plan year 2023 Form 5500, page 34 says: “Each eligible employee may begin receiving matching contributions on the first day of the month after completing at least 1,000 hours of service in a consecutive 12-month period commencing on date of hire (or during any subsequent Plan year). The Company match is 100% of deferrals up to 6% of each participant's eligible wages for the Plan year. Company matching contributions are contributed to the Plan each payroll period and are calculated based on each participant's cumulative compensation and cumulative elective and catch-up contributions through such payroll period. Rollover contributions into the Plan are not eligible for a Company matching contribution.” Plan terms may have changed; check your current Summary Plan Description.
When is the Walmart 401(k) match vested?
The audit report attached to the plan year 2023 Form 5500, page 34 says: “Participants are immediately vested in all elective, catch-up, rollover, Company matching and qualified non-elective contributions. A participant's profit sharing contribution account shall vest based on years of service at a rate of 20% per year from years two through six and may become fully vested upon participant retirement at age 65 or above, total and permanent disability, or death.”
Who manages the Walmart 401(k)?
The recordkeeper listed on Schedule C of the plan year 2025 filing is Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner Smith I. The plan administrator is Walmart Inc..
I left Walmart. How do I find my old 401(k)?
Your account stays in the plan until you move it. Contact the plan administrator (Walmart Inc., (800) 421-1362) or the recordkeeper, Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner Smith I. The Walmart old 401(k) page lists the contacts from every plan filing. Find an old Walmart 401(k)
Data from the public Form 5500 annual reports Walmart 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 Walmart. Not financial advice. Report a correction · Methodology