Retirement Contribution

A monetary contribution to a retirement plan. Retirement contributions can be pretax or after tax, depending on whether the retirement plan is qualified, how much the contribution is in relation to the contributor's income, and whether the contributor has made previous contributions that would limit tax deductibility.

In most corporate, private and government retirement plans, an employee's retirement contribution is matched in some way by the employer. This is referred to as an "employer match", rather than a contribution.