401(k) Match Alternatives: Planning Strategies for High-Earning Clients

About the Episode:

Your high-earning clients are facing a new reality: employers cutting 401(k) matches as economic pressures mount. This creates both challenge and opportunity for advisors who know where to look.

Join host Dave Alison and guest, Bryan Bibbo, AIF, NSSA, BPC, CEPA, President & CFO and Partner at JL Smith Holistic Wealth Management, as they discuss the systematic approach they use when clients lose their employer match. They cover how to audit total compensation packages, identify overlooked benefits, and redirect savings to maintain retirement projections. They also share real cases from their practice, including a 46-year-old who lost a 3% match and the specific strategies they deployed to fill that gap.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Auditing Overall Savings Rate: How to assess whether clients remain on track when employer matching disappears and where to redirect discretionary funds.
• Automatic Contribution Increases: Using gradual 401(k) contribution increases to replace lost matching without shocking client cash flow.
• True-Up Provisions: Why high earners who front-load 401(k) contributions may be leaving matching dollars on the table without proper plan provisions.
• Pay Stub Analysis: Creating an annualized projection system to verify clients max out, 401(k), HSA, and mega backdoor Roth opportunities before year-end.
• HSA Strategic Funding: Maximizing health savings accounts (HSAs) while paying medical expenses out of pocket to create tax-free compounding and future reimbursement opportunities.
• Deferred Compensation Strategy: Calculating exactly how much to defer based on current versus projected retirement tax brackets to avoid over-deferring.
• Mega Backdoor Roth Execution: Ensuring clients take advantage of after-tax 401(k) contributions with in-plan conversions before year-end.
• RSU Tax Withholding Optimization: Adjusting restricted stock unit withholding rates based on client outlook to either maximize share accumulation or minimize exposure.
• ESPP Advantage: Capturing the immediate 15% discount on employee stock purchase plans as a source of free money for high earners.
• Solo 401(k) Layering: Structuring spousal payroll and employer contributions to help maximize retirement savings from side business income alongside W-2 employment.

Whether your clients are navigating benefit cuts or you’re looking to deepen relationships with high earners not quite rich yet, this episode provides the frameworks and real-world examples to conduct meaningful planning conversations.

Resources:

• Financial Planning Software: eMoney
• Tax Planning Tool: Holistiplan