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It doesn’t include 401k, medical Ahh interesting, I assumed it included things like bonuses and equity, but am surprised to learn 401k contributions are not co

• potatolicious 5y ago
  It's a factor one ought to consider - but at the salary ranges that we're typically talking about and at the typical match levels most employers offer, including 401K contributions doesn't change the math much, so it's mostly not counted. For example, an employer who does a 1:1 match up to the IRS limit would be contributing at most ~$20K to your total comp, but when you're dealing with the rest of the package being in the $500K-1M range it tends to get glossed over.
• jandrewrogers 5y ago
  Matched contributions to 401k are generally not considered part of total comp because there is no implication that the match can be converted into cash immediately, though this is often the case. Similarly, HSA contributions by the employer usually are not counted as total comp even though it is a form of cash benefit. The rubric for all of these complicated and indirect forms of compensation is "benefits". These benefits are significantly limited in terms of practical cash value and rules around their use by regulation, whereas there is no bound on TC.