<topic sku="core" tNum="254649" author="erinpa" xmlns="x-schema:hhTopicSchema.xml"><index><title>Track employer matching in a retirement account</title><category>investing</category><klink type="prcdr">How do I track employer matching in my retirement account?</klink></index>
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<tease>Why?</tease>
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<p>As an employment benefit, many employers match a percentage of the employee's contributions to a retirement account. Money can automatically record these deposits (as well as other pretax and post-tax deductions from your paycheck) to better track the balance in your retirement funds, such as a 401(k) or 403(b) account. To track your employer matching fund, first create a new retirement account to track your account balance and performance. Then, set up your paycheck to automatically record your employer's matching deposit and transfer to your retirement fund.</p>
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<ol>
<li>Create a retirement account.</li>
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<tease><showme/></tease>
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<ol>
<li>On the <emph>Accounts & Bills</emph> menu, click <emph>Account Setup</emph>.</li>
<li>Click <emph>Add a new account.</emph></li>
<li>When asked what kind of account you want to set up, click <emph>Retirement</emph>, and then click <emph>Next</emph>.</li>
<li>Follow the instructions on the screen.</li>
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<li>Itemize your paycheck deductions.</li>
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<tease>I already have a paycheck scheduled to track net pay only</tease>
<li>Click your paycheck, click <emph>Edit</emph>, and then click <emph>Edit paycheck series</emph>.</li>
<li>Change the <emph>Category</emph> to <emph>Paycheck</emph> (and if necessary, click <emph>Split</emph>).</li>
<li>In the <emph>Wages</emph> tab, change the subcategory in the first line from <emph>Net Pay</emph> to <emph>Gross Pay</emph>.</li>
<li>Double-click the amount, enter your gross pay from your paystub, and then double-click the next empty row in the table.</li>
<li>In the <emph>Category</emph> column, choose <emph>Wages & Salary</emph> as the category and <emph>Employer Matching</emph> as the subcategory.</li>
<li>In the <emph>Amount</emph> column, enter the amount per paycheck that your employer contributes to your retirement fund.</li>
<li>Click the <emph>Deductions Before Taxes</emph> tab.</li>
<li>In the <emph>Category</emph> column, click <emph>Transfer</emph> and your retirement account name, and then enter your employer's matching contributions in the <emph>Amount</emph> column.</li>
<li>Enter any other deductions or taxes from your paycheck using the tabs available.</li>
<p>Review the totals in the table to make sure everything matches your paycheck stub. Be sure to enter all deductions as positive numbers.</p>
<p> If the sum of the deductions plus your wages does not equal your gross pay, there will be an amount labeled <emph>Unassigned</emph>. Double-check your pay stub and recheck the number you entered until the <emph>Unassigned</emph> amount equals zero.</p>
<li>Click <emph>Done</emph>.</li>
<li>Verify the information in the remaining boxes, including the name of your employer, the account in which you will deposit your paycheck and your paycheck frequency.</li>
<li>Click <emph>OK</emph>.</li>
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<tease>I already have an itemized paycheck scheduled</tease>
<li>Click your paycheck, click <emph>Edit</emph>, and then click <emph>Edit paycheck series</emph>.</li>
<li>Click <emph>Details</emph>.</li>
<li>Click the <emph>Wages</emph> tab, verify that the first category listed is <emph>Wages & Salary: Gross Pay</emph>, and that the amount is correct.</li>
<li>Double-click the next empty row in the table.</li>
<li>In the <emph>Category</emph> column, choose <emph>Wages & Salary</emph> as the category and <emph>Employer Matching</emph> as the subcategory.</li>
<li>In the <emph>Amount</emph> column, enter the amount per paycheck that your employer contributes to your retirement fund.</li>
<li>Click the <emph>Deductions Before Taxes</emph> tab, enter <emph>Transfer</emph> and your retirement account name in the <emph>Category</emph> column, and then enter your employer's matching contributions in the <emph>Amount</emph> column.</li>
<li>Verify any other deductions or taxes from your paycheck using the tabs available.</li>
<p>Review the totals in the table to make sure everything matches your paycheck stub. Be sure to enter all deductions as positive numbers.</p>
<li>Click <emph>Done</emph>.</li>
<li>Verify the information in the remaining boxes, including the name of your employer, the account in which you will deposit your paycheck, and your paycheck frequency.</li>
<li>Click <emph>OK</emph>.</li>
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<tease>I haven't yet scheduled a paycheck deposit in Money</tease>
<li>Click <emph>New</emph>, and then click <emph>Paycheck</emph>.</li>
<li>Click <emph>Yes, track taxes and other deductions</emph>, and then click <emph>Next</emph>.</li>
<li>When asked if your paycheck includes contributions to a retirement fund, click <emph>Yes</emph>, and then click <emph>Next</emph>.</li>
<li>Click the retirement account you created in step 1, and then click <emph>Next</emph>.</li>
<li>When asked if your paycheck includes contributions to a savings (or cash) account, click <emph>Yes</emph>, and then click <emph>Next</emph>.</li>
<li>Click the retirement account you created in step 1, and then click <emph>Next</emph>.</li>
<li>Read the instructions, and then click <emph>Next</emph>.</li>
<li>Click the <emph>Wages</emph> tab, verify that the first category listed is <emph>Wages & Salary: Gross Pay</emph>, and then double-click the amount for this category.</li>
<li>Enter your gross pay in the <emph>Amount</emph> column, and then double-click the next empty row in the table.</li>
<li>In the <emph>Category</emph> column, choose <emph>Wages & Salary</emph> as the category and <emph>Employer Matching</emph> as the subcategory.</li>
<li>In the <emph>Amount</emph> column, enter the amount per paycheck that your employer contributes to your retirement fund.</li>
<li>Click the <emph>Deductions Before Taxes</emph> tab, verify that the first entry in the table is <emph>Transfer to</emph> and your retirement account name, and then enter your employer's matching contributions in the <emph>Amount</emph> column.</li>
<li>Enter any other deductions or taxes from your paycheck using the tabs available.</li>
<p>Review the totals in the table to make sure everything matches your paycheck stub. Be sure to enter all deductions as positive numbers.</p>
<li>Click <emph>Done</emph></li>
<li>Enter the information in the remaining boxes, including the name of your employer, the account in which you will deposit your paycheck, and your paycheck frequency.</li>
<li>Select the <emph>Enter this into my register automatically</emph> check box if you want Money to enter your paychecks automatically.</li>
<li>If you know when these paychecks will stop, select the <emph>This series will end at some point in time</emph> check box, and then enter the number of paychecks remaining or the date of your final check. </li>
<li>Click <emph>OK</emph>.</li>
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<footer>
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<tease>How do I see my employer's matching deposits in my retirement account?</tease>
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<p>First, you must record the paycheck deposit into your account. <alink type="prcdr" href="Schedulemypaycheckdeposit.xml"/></p>
<ol>
<li>Once the deposit is recorded in Money, click <emph>Portfolio</emph> on the <emph>Investing</emph> menu.</li>
<li>Click the retirement account to open it.</li>
<li>In the left pane, click <emph>Cash Transactions</emph>.</li>
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<p>Once your employer's matching money has been used to buy new shares of your retirement investment (by the administrator of your retirement account), you can enter the transactions in Money and the cash will be debited from your account.</p>