[bluGill]

That depends on what the other things are. Most years I get half of my take home pay in December because of my bonus (some of that is my 401k maxing out in November), there have been a couple bad years where the bonus was less, but at least I was able to keep my job. Keeping my job is a factor as well, since I have a family to support, if I'm laid off (like most companies do all the time) that means I'm scrambling to figure out how to get cash, while I can live off of the smaller paychecks I get.

That is me - what is the above worth to you? If you are risk adverse like me, then you like that plan. Others want the cash now but can accept the risk of losing their jobs. Some have a high risk tolerance and like getting their money in stocks - in the best case this is the most money, but in the worst case it is the least. There is no right answer.

In the end you need a certain amount of money to live. That is different from your actual value.

[r00fus]

This would be included in total compensation (which should include non-renumerative benefits as well). In sales, where total comp could be mostly commission (I've seen a 25/75% split in some cases) the company should have some idea of what the bonus/commission range is.

[tshaddox]

Out of curiosity, why does your 401k max out in November? If your employee does matching then wouldn’t you want to spread it as evenly as possible throughout the entire year?

[InefficientRed]

November is pretty close to the whole year. If you choose a fixed % per paycheck and have a bonus that's not perfectly amortized then being off by a month is actually pretty good.

[tshaddox]

I assumed that employer contribution matching is generally a fixed percentage of the employee’s salary each pay period, which means that if you don’t contribute in one month you forfeit that percentage of your salary and thus about 8% of your total possible employer matching.

[endianswap]

At least in my case as an engineer at a smaller tech company my 401k (and corresponding match) maxes out each January because that's when bonuses are granted.

[InefficientRed]

Note: you can set your contribution % to 0 in January and then change it in February. This can be worthwhile because you then DCA throughout the rest of the year. On the other hand, by contributing everything in January, you get the employer match earlier. And over a 30 year career it's likely a rounding error.

[InefficientRed]

I've seen it work different ways and different companies. It's either a % of salary or a % of your gross paycheck. In the latter case, bonuses can mess things up.

[nostrademons]

If you assume a bull market it's best to max out the 401K ASAP, because if stock prices rise throughout the year you want to buy stock early before it gets expensive. A lot of FANG employees max out their 401K in January because they set their bonus 401K percentage to 100% and just fully fund their 401K from the bonus.

This strategy is getting reamed this year, but it's historically been a good bet about 85% of the time.

[bluGill]

Every company I've worked for accounts for that. I get my full match no matter when I max my 401k out. Of course different companies work differently.