money at work

The quietest 3% in any offer is the one nobody negotiates.

The employer match is the part of an offer people never ask about. On a $70,000 base, the difference between a 3% match and a 6% match is $2,100 a year.

You asked for the recruiter question card. It is below, as the slides from the post, then the one move, then the tool the chart points at.

Slide 1 of 7: The quietest 3% in any offer is the one nobody negotiates.

Slide 2 of 7: What the match is worth on a $70,000 base, by formula.

Slide 3 of 7: Most private workers have a plan, and most of the people offered one join it.

Slide 4 of 7: The phrase 401(k) with company match covers a 1% match and a 6% match equally well.

Slide 5 of 7: One sentence to the recruiter, before you compare anything.

Slide 6 of 7: A match you lose when you leave is a smaller match than the formula suggests.

Slide 7 of 7: Save this for the next offer.

The tool this chart points at

A low-fee brokerage

For the IRA, the index fund and the rollover. Broad index funds with expense ratios under 0.1%.

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Sources: Arithmetic; BLS Employee Benefits March 2025; Vanguard How America Saves 2026.

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