Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs): Owning a piece of your employer

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Retire with your piece of the pie.

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An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) is a qualified retirement plan that’s primarily invested in employer stock. Rather than employees deferring part of their pay into a retirement account and receiving a company match, as with a 401(k), ESOPs are funded entirely by the employer, typically through contributions of company stock. Over time, shares allocated to individual employee accounts can grow and become a major source of retirement wealth.

There are benefits to participating in an ESOP, but there are drawbacks as well, including concentration risk (because a large portion of the retirement account is invested in a single stock). Here’s what you need to know before relying on an ESOP for your financial future.

Federal law governs ESOPs as qualified retirement plans, similar to pensions, 401(k) plans, or profit-sharing plans. However, rather than the primary asset being cash, mutual funds, or bonds, the company contributes its own shares.

Your company might use an ESOP to encourage long-term employee engagement by offering an ownership stake in the business. If the company performs well, the value of ESOP shares typically rise. If it doesn’t, the value of your account may stagnate or fall, because much of your retirement wealth is tied to that single company.

With publicly traded companies, that increase or decrease in value shows up in the market price of the stock. For privately held companies, share value is updated through a required annual appraisal. Those valuations are used to set employee account balances and determine fair market value when shares must be repurchased as employees retire or leave the company.

Rather than withholding cash (and matching contributions) from a paycheck and depositing it into a retirement plan like a 401(k), the employer makes company stock contributions to the plan. The stock is held in an ESOP trust, which holds and manages company shares on behalf of each employee until they’re eligible to receive distributions.

ESOPs are funded in two main ways:

Employee participation is typically automatic once you’ve met the eligibility requirements. Criteria for participation might include years of service or age thresholds. Over time, your ESOP account balance grows as more shares are allocated and the company’s share price (presumably) increases.

Companies that offer ESOPs must follow strict rules when allocating shares among employees. Federal regulations require a nondiscriminatory formula, which means shares are distributed using consistent, objective rules rather than management discretion. The shares don’t have to be distributed evenly as long as the formula is consistent. For example, many ESOPs allocate shares based on salary, so higher-paid employees receive more shares. Alternatively, service-based rules can result in more shares the longer you work at a company.

Vesting rules govern when employees gain full ownership of their allocated shares. Just as some 401(k) plans have vesting schedules, some ESOPs don’t allow you to claim your shares completely until you’re vested. You may be subject to a graduated schedule, under which you are legally entitled to a set number of shares over time, or to a “cliff-based” schedule that grants you the right to the value of all the shares once you meet certain requirements.

You typically don’t receive shares or cash while you’re actively employed. Distributions generally occur after you retire or otherwise leave the company, and they may be paid out over several years rather than all at once. In privately held companies, ESOP distributions are usually paid in cash after the company buys back the shares. In publicly traded companies, distributions may be made in stock, which employees can typically sell on the open market.

ESOP valuation rules are strict, requiring an annual appraisal of the stock’s fair market value. Additionally, transactions usually require an independent appraisal. These rules are designed to keep the ESOP from paying more than fair market value for repurchases as founders and departing employees cash out.

Companies that use ESOPs can benefit from them as a way to raise capital, give founders a chance to cash out, and encourage employee loyalty by providing an ownership stake in the business. Employees can benefit if the stock increases in value. However, there are drawbacks to ESOPs that affect employers and workers, including administrative costs, poor liquidity, and concentration risk.

Even though ESOPs have higher administrative costs and compliance requirements than some other types of retirement plans, some companies like to offer them to smooth succession planning, offer benefits to founders, and reward employees for engagement and loyalty.

Although ESOPs can provide a path to wealth for share recipients, gains depend on company performance and stock appreciation. Companies can offer retirement plans, such as a 401(k), in addition to an ESOP in order to help employees diversify their retirement holdings. If your employer offers an ESOP but no 401(k) or other plan, opening an IRA can help balance your retirement savings beyond your employer’s stock.