Is there a way to mark which purchases are made with employer match in my 401(K)

HyruleBalverine

I've set up my paycheck to show employer match contributions into my 401(K) account. However, this appears to just put both the employer match contributions and my own contributions into the same general cash balance in my 401(k) and so each purchase made just seems to show as a purchase I made. My 401(k) has vested percentages that change bases on how many years I've been part of the company, so I know that I "technically" don't have the full value of all of the stock purchased. Is there a way to mark or show which purchases are made with the employer contributions vs my contributions so that "my" value in my 401(k) shows accurately?

Tom Young

You could create a duplicate of any security you own and have bought with your own contributions, using the same ticker symbol and a slightly different name, (e.g., put "CO" in front of the regular name).  Then use the employer's match to buy these "CO" securities.  That way the securities that were purchased with the employer match would be easily distinguishable.

[Deleted User]

It seems like you are trying to keep track of your Employer Match vested balance in Quicken.  I don't think this is possible.  First, you would need to segregate the match balance in its own source in Quicken, and then, apply your vested percent to that balance.  Quicken can't segregate separate sources in one account.  The only possible way to separate sources is to have 2 separate accounts set up in Quicken, one for 100% vested sources, and one for non vested sources.  If you do that then you would not be able to use online services because you can only connect one account to your financial institution.  It would also be a manual calculation for the non vested sources account in Quicken, based on your vested percent.  It is not worth the effort.  Eventually you will be 100% vested in all sources.  In the meantime, you can always see your vested balances in your 401(k) Provider's website or statements, and make notations in Quicken if you wish.

This is from my experience with Quicken and 401(k) accounts, maybe someone here might have a better solution.

HyruleBalverine

> @Damian said:
> It seems like you are trying to keep track of your Employer Match vested balance in Quicken.

Yes, that's exactly what I'm trying to do. And, again, it seems that Quicken disappoints me. It's looking more and more like making an Excel or Google spreadsheet document to keep track of stuff is the way to go. It's more work but it's free. Quicken charges a lot for very little, it seems.

HyruleBalverine

> @Tom Young said:
> You could create a duplicate of any security you own and have bought with your own contributions, using the same ticker symbol and a slightly different name, (e.g., put "CO" in front of the regular name).  Then use the employer's match to buy these "CO" securities.  That way the securities that were purchased with the employer match would be easily distinguishable.

The problem with that is that it won't show these with vested values, which is what I'm hoping to do. I figured that since Quicken asks for employer match amounts and vested percentage that it would also keep track of this.

[Deleted User]

@HyruleBalverine - Your 401(K) plan provider uses 2 different accounting systems.  One for investments and trading (the trust or custodial account) and one for participant level accounting (recordkeeping).  It is the recordkeeping system that calculates participant level information such as vested % and vested balance.  Long story short, Quicken is made for accounting, and to handle investments and trading, but it is not meant to be able to handle recordkeeping functions (and rightfully so).   

[Deleted User]

@Hyrulebalverine - I have found Quicken to be an invaluable tool to help me keep track of my retirement accounts.  But your plan providers website should always be your main "go to" to make investment decisions, reallocate funds, and get plan information.  What Quicken does is provide a very efficient way to see your retirement investments and balances along with your other accounts and assets, for budgeting, retirement planning, savings goals, etc.  I know that vesting and vested % is important to you, but it's something your plan provider can give you in detail.  And, eventually you will  become 100% vested, so it's not going to be an ongoing concern.

HyruleBalverine

I know that I can get my balances, etc., from my 401(k) website, but the whole idea of getting a digital register is to be able to keep track of my financial data on my own. It just seems odd to me that the program can't keep track of this, but it's just par for the course for the issues I've had with this program lol

Chris_QPW

When I look at my wife's 401K purchases, I see that the financial institution has sent one buy transaction for both.  So, by definition, the financial institution isn't sending enough information for Quicken to do anything about this (even if I was somehow programmed to do it, which it isn't).

That means that only leaves recording things manually like @Tom Young suggested.  Both buys, and sells would have to be manually entered because you are treating them as different securities.

Personally, when I had this situation in the past I did as @Damian suggested and just relied on the information on the financial institution's website to know what I really owned.