Understanding the Milliken 401k Plan
The Milliken Retirement Plan is how most Milliken & Company employees build retirement savings. You contribute from each paycheck, Milliken adds money on top, and it grows invested over time. With Milliken's traditional pension frozen back at the end of 2005, this plan is now the primary vehicle for turning a career at Milliken into retirement income — so it's worth understanding how it actually works.
What Is the Milliken Retirement Plan?
The Milliken Retirement Plan (often shortened to "the MRP") is a defined-contribution, 401(k)-style plan sponsored by Milliken & Company of Spartanburg, South Carolina. It has been in place since 1965 and today is one of the larger single-employer retirement plans in the Upstate. It combines your own voluntary contributions with money the company adds, all invested in a menu of funds you choose from.
This article covers the core provisions of the plan as reported in its most recent federal filing. Because plan rules can be updated from year to year, always confirm the specifics that matter to you against your Summary Plan Description (SPD) and current plan materials.
Figures from the plan's 2024 Form 5500 filing with the U.S. Department of Labor.
The Milliken Match: How the Company Adds to Your Account
The heart of the plan is the company match. When you contribute from your paycheck, Milliken contributes on top of what you put in — but only if you're contributing. If you defer nothing, you leave that match on the table.
Milliken's plan materials describe a two-for-one company match on your voluntary contributions up to a set percentage of pay — a notably rich structure compared with the dollar-for-dollar formulas many employers use. The practical takeaway is the same as with any match: contribute at least enough to capture every dollar the company is willing to add. Because match formulas are periodically updated, confirm the current match rate, and the exact contribution level needed to max it out, in your SPD or on the T. Rowe Price site before you set your deferral.
This match-driven design is relatively recent. Milliken restructured the plan in 2012, retiring older automatic company contributions in favor of the match-plus-automatic-enrollment approach the plan uses today. In 2024 alone, the company put more than $15.5 million into employees' accounts, while employees contributed about $28.5 million of their own.
A worked example: why the match is free money
Imagine two colleagues, Ava and Ben, each earning $60,000. Ava contributes enough to capture the full company match; Ben contributes nothing because "money's tight this year."
Ava gets her own savings plus the company's matching dollars added on top — an immediate, guaranteed return before her investments earn a cent. Ben gets nothing from the company. Over a 30-year career, that gap compounds into tens of thousands of dollars in forgone retirement money. The match is the closest thing to free money most employees will ever be offered.
Illustration only. Assumes participation at or above the level required to earn the full match; confirm your plan's current match formula in your Summary Plan Description.
Good News: You're 100% Vested From Day One
"Vesting" is the term for how much of the company's money you actually get to keep if you leave. Some employers make you stay several years before their contributions are fully yours. Milliken doesn't. Since January 1, 2012, participants have been immediately 100% vested in their entire Milliken Retirement Plan account — your own contributions, the company match, and any earnings.
In plain terms: if you left Milliken tomorrow, every dollar in your account — including everything the company added — would go with you. There's no forfeiture schedule to worry about, which is a genuinely employee-friendly feature.
How You Can Contribute
Your contributions come straight out of your paycheck before you ever see the money, which makes saving automatic. The plan has historically allowed voluntary before-tax (pre-tax) contributions of up to 50% of your pay, subject to the annual IRS limits.
A few things worth knowing:
- IRS limits apply. Each year the IRS caps how much you can defer, with an extra "catch-up" amount allowed once you reach age 50. If you're a higher earner, it's easy to hit these limits — plan your deferral percentage so you don't accidentally stop contributing (and stop earning match) before year-end.
- Roth and after-tax options. Many large plans have added a Roth (after-tax) contribution feature that lets qualified withdrawals come out tax-free in retirement. Whether the current Milliken plan offers Roth or additional after-tax contributions is worth confirming in your plan materials — if it's available, it can be a powerful tool depending on your tax situation.
- It depends on you. The right contribution rate and tax treatment depends on your age, tax bracket, other accounts, and goals. There's no single number that's right for everyone.
Automatic Enrollment: You May Already Be In
Milliken automatically enrolls newly eligible employees so that saving is the default rather than something you have to opt into. Historically, new participants have been auto-enrolled at a 2% contribution rate, with their money directed into the plan's default investment until they make their own choices.
Auto-enrollment is a helpful nudge, but 2% is almost certainly below the level needed to capture the full company match. If you were auto-enrolled and never revisited it, log in and check — bumping your rate up to at least the full-match threshold is one of the highest-return moves you can make.
Your Investment Lineup
Inside the plan, your money is invested in funds you select. The Milliken Retirement Plan uses a streamlined, low-cost menu built largely around institutional collective trusts — a structure that tends to carry lower fees than retail mutual funds. Based on the plan's 2024 filing, the lineup includes:
- T. Rowe Price Retirement Blend target-date funds — a full series from Retirement Blend 2005 through 2065. These are "set it and forget it" funds that automatically grow more conservative as you approach your target retirement year, and they serve as the plan's default investment for auto-enrolled participants.
- A stable value fund (the T. Rowe Price Stable Value Common Trust Fund) for capital preservation.
- Low-cost index options from State Street Global Advisors, including S&P 500, U.S. bond, U.S. small/mid-cap, and international (global all-cap ex-U.S.) index strategies.
- An actively managed U.S. small/mid-cap option and a government short-term (money-market-style) fund.
Borrowing From Your Milliken Plan
The plan permits participant loans, and Milliken employees collectively had roughly $11.7 million in outstanding plan loans at the end of 2024. A 401(k) loan lets you borrow from your own balance and pay yourself back with interest through payroll deduction.
It can be a useful tool in a pinch, but tread carefully. Money you've borrowed isn't invested while it's out, so you can miss market growth, and if you leave the company with a loan outstanding, the unpaid balance can become taxable (and potentially subject to penalties). Check your SPD for the current minimum and maximum loan amounts, the interest rate, and repayment terms before you borrow.
Who Holds Your Plan, and How to Reach Your Account
T. Rowe Price serves as the plan's recordkeeper and trustee — it's who you'll log in with to check your balance, change your contribution rate, choose investments, or request a loan or distribution. You can reach your account through T. Rowe Price's workplace retirement website (or its mobile app) using the credentials tied to your Milliken plan.
The plan also makes independent investment advice available to participants through Edelman Financial Engines, and its financial statements are independently audited (by Grant Thornton LLP for the 2024 plan year) — the kind of oversight that comes standard with a large, well-run ERISA plan.
Leaving Milliken: Your Options
Because you're always 100% vested, the full value of your account is yours when you leave. You generally have four options:
- Leave it in the Milliken plan. If your balance is above the plan's threshold, you can often keep your money invested where it is and continue to benefit from the plan's institutional pricing. You just can't make new contributions.
- Roll it into your new employer's plan. If your next job offers a qualified plan that accepts rollovers, consolidating can keep things simple.
- Roll it into an IRA. An IRA typically opens up a far wider investment menu and gives you more control — often the most flexible option, and one where an advisor can help you weigh costs and investment choices.
- Cash it out. Possible, but rarely advisable. A cash-out is generally taxed as income and, if you're under 59½, usually hit with an additional 10% penalty — and you lose decades of potential tax-deferred growth.
Which path is best depends on your age, tax bracket, other accounts, and goals — it's a decision worth talking through before you act.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Milliken match retirement plan contributions?
Yes. Milliken contributes to your account when you contribute from your paycheck. The plan's materials describe a generous two-for-one match on your voluntary contributions up to a set percentage of pay. Confirm the current match rate and cap in your Summary Plan Description.
How much should I contribute to get the full Milliken match?
At minimum, contribute enough to earn every matching dollar the company offers — anything less is leaving free money behind. Check the exact full-match threshold in your plan materials, then set your deferral at or above it. Whether to save more than that depends on your age, tax bracket, other accounts, and goals.
When am I vested in the Milliken Retirement Plan?
Immediately. Since January 1, 2012, participants are 100% vested in their entire account — your contributions, the company match, and all earnings — from day one, with no forfeiture schedule.
Does Milliken automatically enroll new employees?
Yes. Newly eligible employees have historically been automatically enrolled at a 2% contribution rate, with contributions directed to the plan's default target-date fund until you choose your own investments. Because 2% is usually below the full-match level, it's worth raising.
Does the Milliken plan offer a Roth option?
The plan has historically centered on before-tax contributions of up to 50% of pay. Many large plans have since added Roth (after-tax) contributions, so confirm current availability in your plan materials — if offered, whether Roth makes sense for you depends on your tax situation.
Can I take a loan from my Milliken Retirement Plan?
Yes, the plan permits participant loans repaid through payroll deduction. Confirm the current minimum and maximum amounts, interest rate, and repayment terms in your SPD, and weigh the trade-offs before borrowing.
How do I access and manage my Milliken retirement account?
T. Rowe Price is the plan's recordkeeper. Log in through T. Rowe Price's workplace retirement website or app to check your balance, change contributions, choose investments, or request a loan or distribution.
What happens to my account if I leave Milliken?
Because you're always 100% vested, the full balance is yours. You can generally leave it in the plan, roll it into a new employer's plan, roll it into an IRA, or cash out (usually the least advisable due to taxes and penalties).
Have questions about your Milliken retirement account?
We help Milliken employees make the most of their retirement plan — from setting the right contribution rate and choosing investments to planning a rollover when you leave or retire. We'd rather you hear it clearly from us than guess.
Interested in a free consultation? Always feel free to reach out to us via our contact form here. You may also reach us at (864) 598-0000.
IntelliVest Wealth Management is a Registered Investment Advisor headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina. This is not a solicitation or financial advice, and this article should only be used for educational purposes. Plan details are drawn from the Milliken Retirement Plan's Form 5500 filing with the U.S. Department of Labor for the 2024 plan year, along with the plan's summary materials, and were accurate as of that filing. IntelliVest Wealth Management is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Milliken & Company or T. Rowe Price. Plan provisions — including the match formula, contribution options, and loan terms — may change. Confirm your own plan provisions against your Summary Plan Description and current plan materials, and consult IntelliVest Wealth Management about your personal financial situation.
