One area in defined contribution plans that varies widely fromemployer to employer is that of matching contributions.

Those are among the findings in in the 15th anniversaryedition of “How America Saves,” Vanguard's annual defined contributionreport, released in tandem with the 10th anniversary ofthe Pension Protection Act.

In addition to exploring other aspects of defined contributionplans, the report looked at plans offering matching contributions,those offering nonmatching employer contributions and plans towhich the employer made no contribution at all.

Financial professionals tend to assume problems are as obviousto everyone as they are to us. They're not.

Some plans offer both a matching contribution, in which theemployee has to put in a specific percentage of pay in order toreceive the match, and a nonmatching contribution, which oftencarries restrictions such as a waiting period before the employeeis eligible to receive the matching funds.

Most common were plans offering a matching contribution, with48% falling into this category, covering 51% of participants. Tenpercent of plans, covering just 2% of participants, provided onlynonmatching contributions, while 37% of plans covering 46% ofparticipants provided both matching and nonmatchingcontributions.

When it comes to matching contributions and the formulas thatdetermine how much employees will receive, there's nothing if notvariation. Vanguard reported that in 2015 it administered “morethan 225 distinct match formulas for plans offering an employermatch.”

The promised value of the match, the study found, variessubstantially from plan to plan. Among plans with single- ormultitier match formulas, four in 10 (covering 45% of participants)promised a match of between 3% and 6% of pay, with most promisingmatches between 1% and 6% of pay.

The average value of the promised match was 4.1% of pay; themedian value was 3%. Average promised matches fell slightly in 2009following the recession, with some sponsors reducing matches.Average and median promised matches have remained fairly stablebetween 2006 and 2015, the study said.

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