a retirement savings plan that is funded by employee contributions and (often) matching contributions from the employer; contributions are made from your salary before taxes and the funds grow tax-free until they are withdrawn, at which point they can be converted into an IRA; funds can be transferred if you change employers and you can (to some extent) manage the investments yourself • Syn: 401-k plan • Hypernyms: pension plan, pension account, retirement plan, retirement savings plan, retirement savings account, retirement account, retirement program