You want your 401(k) to do well. It has to if you want to retire comfortably. And yet, even the thought of checking your balance or reviewing your latest statement can stir up enough confusion, frustration, and anxiety that you avoid touching your account for weeks, if not months.
It's a really common situation, but you can make updating your 401(k) a little less overwhelming by focusing on small, high-impact tasks, like the four listed below. You should be able to do each one in five minutes or less, and they don't require you to learn every rule of your plan, understand how your investments work, or pinch pennies all year long.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Take advantage of free money by claiming as much of your 401(k) match as you can
Claiming your 401(k) match is one of the best retirement moves you can make for 2026 because you could effectively double your annual contributions without putting much additional strain on your budget. That could put thousands of dollars in your 401(k) today, and it could grow to tens of thousands of dollars by retirement.
Every company that offers a 401(k) match chooses its own matching formula. If you're not sure what yours is, ask your HR department or check with your plan administrator. Usually, you contribute a certain amount, and your employer matches 50% or 100% of it, up to a certain percentage of your income. For example, if you make $60,000 and get a 100% match on up to 4% of your income, you save $2,400, and your employer gives you another $2,400.
To figure out how much you must save per paycheck to get the full match, divide the amount you must contribute by the number of pay periods. So if you're paid every other week, that's 26 times a year. That means you need to set aside approximately $92 per pay period to save $2,400.
It's OK if you can't save that much. Even claiming part of your match can make a significant difference to your retirement savings, especially after the money has been invested for a few decades.
2. Future-proof your contribution rate by switching to percentage-based deferrals
Contributing a certain percentage of each paycheck to your 401(k) generally works better than contributing a specific dollar amount, especially if you think you'll get raises in the future. A percentage-based contribution will automatically increase the dollar amount with each raise, so you don't have to go in and tweak your deferral rate down the line unless you want to. If you're contributing a flat dollar amount, you might forget to update it after a raise. Then you'll miss out on the chance to save even more in the future.
If you have access to an online 401(k) account, you might be able to change how much you defer from each paycheck there. If you're not sure how to make this change, talk with your HR department to find out next steps.
You can divide your current deferral amount by the size of your paycheck to figure out what percentage you're currently setting aside if you're not ready to bump up your contribution rate. For example, if your paycheck is $2,000 and you're setting aside $100 per paycheck, you're saving 5% of your income.
3. Grow your savings with minimal pain by increasing your contributions by 1% of your income
If you're ready to make a push to increase your 401(k) contributions but don't have a ton of cash to spare, consider increasing your contributions by 1% of your income. For someone earning $60,000 per year, that's $600, or $50 per month.
Making small changes like this is easier on your budget than trying to make bigger contributions that demand large sacrifices in the present. And small changes still make a big difference. An extra $50 per month over 10 years would give you nearly $8,700 more with an 8% average annual return.
You should be able to make this change in your online 401(k) account or by talking with your HR department. If it goes well this year, consider upping your contributions by 1% of your salary again in 2027 to keep the momentum going.
4. Give your loved ones peace of mind by updating your beneficiaries
Updating your 401(k) beneficiaries ensures that the people you want to receive your money after you die actually do. Your information might already be up to date, but you may need to make some adjustments if you've recently added or lost a family member. You probably don't want your ex to get your 401(k) after you're divorced, and you probably don't want your youngest child to miss out on their inheritance, either.
While you're updating your 401(k) contributions for 2026, take a few moments in your online account to review your beneficiaries. You may have to choose primary and contingent beneficiaries. Contingent beneficiaries inherit only if the primary beneficiary is deceased or does not want the money.
Even if you do only one of the four things listed above, you're still taking important action that'll make you better prepared for retirement. You're also showing yourself that you don't need to be a financial expert to make your 401(k) work for you, and that could make it a little easier to take action the next time you have to make a decision regarding your account.
