THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN Contribution & Employer Match

How THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO Supports Your Retirement Savings

THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO provides retirement savings benefits through THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN. Understanding your employer’s contribution structure is essential — it directly affects how quickly your retirement nest egg grows. Below you will find the plan’s average account values and contribution patterns based on publicly filed data.

THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN Average Participant Retirement Account Value

In 2024, the average participant retirement account value for THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN is $97,143.00

THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN Estimated Average Employee Contribution Amount

In 2024, the estimated average employee contribution amount per participant for THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN is $3,136.00. If you contribute an amount exceeding this, you have saved more than your colleagues. Congratulations! Keep up the good work. Otherwise, you might want to consider contributing more to ensure a better retirement future.
200,710.00: this is the amount you will have accumulated 20 years later if you annually contribute the average contribution amount 3,136.00 in THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN, assuming a 10%* annual return.

* Data are from public filings.

Employer Match in THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN

An employer match is one of the most valuable benefits in any 401(k) plan — it is essentially free money added to your retirement savings. Your employer contributes additional funds based on a percentage of your own contributions. Missing out on the full match is one of the most common and costly retirement mistakes employees make.

THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN Total Employer Contribution and Match Rate

In 2024, THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN allocates $7,281,656.00 to match its employees’ contributions, providing an employer match rate of 111.28% of their contributions

THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN Estimated Average Employer Match

In 2024, the estimated average employer match for an employee in THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN is approximately $3,352.00
Investing in this additonal $3,352.00 for 20 years would give you extra $214,560.00, assuming a 10% annual return.

* Data are from public filings.

Are You Leaving Dollars on the Table?

If you are not contributing enough to capture the maximum employer match, you are literally turning down part of your compensation. For many plans, this can mean thousands of dollars per year in lost employer contributions — money that would compound over decades.

Use the policy details and calculator below to find out exactly how much you need to contribute to capture every dollar of employer matching.

THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN Contribution & Match Policy

THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN Plan Policies

THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN Contribution, Match and Other Plan Policies

  • All participants may contribute from 1% of Plan salary to 100% of Plan salary, up to an annual dollar limit of $23,000 in 2024 and $22,500 in 2023.
  • If an employee is age 50 or will attain age 50 by the end of the calendar year, the employee may contribute up to $7,500 in 2024 and 2023 in addition to the annual dollar limit.
  • The Institute automatically reduces a Plan participant’s Plan salary by 3% each pay period on a before-tax basis (an automatic election) and contributes that amount to a defined contribution plan account unless the employee opts out or increases/decreases the contribution percentage.
  • The Institute contributes a dollar-for-dollar matching contribution, up to 4.5% of Plan salary.
  • The Institute will true-up matching contributions at the end of the year to make sure that employees receive the maximum matching contribution.
  • In addition, the Institute makes fixed contributions equal to 4.5% of an employee’s Plan salary on a pay period basis regardless of whether an employee makes employee contributions.
  • Participants are always fully and immediately vested in their employee contributions, matching contributions, and earnings on those contributions.
  • The vesting schedule for fixed contributions depends on whether the participant is a faculty member or a staff member.
  • Faculty members are always fully and immediately vested in their fixed contributions and all earnings on their fixed contributions.
  • Staff members are fully vested in their fixed contributions and earnings on those contributions upon the participant’s attainment of the Plan’s normal retirement age of 65 while employed at the Institute, upon death or becoming disabled while employed by the Institute, or upon the completion of three vesting years of service.

2025 IRS 401(k) Contribution Limits

The IRS sets annual limits on how much you and your employer can contribute to a 401(k) plan. Knowing these limits helps you maximize tax-advantaged savings. Here are the current limits:

 20242025
Employee elective deferrals (pretax + Roth)$23,000$23,500
Employee + employer contributions combined$69,000$70,000
Catch-up contributions (age 50+)$7,500$7,500
Enhanced catch-up (ages 60–63, SECURE 2.0)N/A$11,250

The power of maxing out: If you contribute the full $23,500 annually for 20 years at a 10% average annual return, you would accumulate approximately $1,505,256. If you can maximize the combined employee+employer limit of $70,000 per year, that grows to roughly $4,480,385 over the same period — more than triple.

Use the 401(k) Savings Calculator to model your specific contribution scenario and see how your savings can grow over time.

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