How Marathon Petroleum Employees Can Optimize Retirement and Benefits
Make Your Marathon Benefits Work as Hard as You Do
You’ve earned an exceptional benefits package—401(k), pension, HSA, equity comp, and more. But navigating it all on your own? That’s where many Marathon employees run into complexity.
You might be checking all the right boxes… yet still missing key opportunities to boost retirement income, lower your tax bill, or better protect your family. That’s where we come in.
Key Areas Where We Help Marathon Employees
Tax Strategies
Retirement Planning
Coordinate your 401(k), pension, and other assets to help create lasting income.
Estate Planning Coordination
Help ensure your wealth is protected and transferred efficiently.
Stock Options & RSUs
Deferred Compensation
Create a strategy that aligns with your future income and taxes.
Healthcare & HSAs
Why the Default Guidance Isn’t Enough
If you’ve reviewed your benefits through the HR portal or spoken with a plan representative and still feel unsure how everything fits together—you’re not alone. These tools are helpful in explaining the features of each benefit, but they rarely provide guidance on how to connect the dots or use your benefits strategically.
Most employees don’t get personalized support unless they’ve built significant assets or are nearing retirement. Conversations tend to be brief, infrequent, and limited to what’s available internally—leaving out important areas like tax planning, insurance coverage, estate strategy, or long-term income coordination. That disconnect can lead to missed match money, unnecessary risk, and costly inefficiencies over time.
What Makes Our Approach Different
We help Marathon employees align their benefits with their broader financial lives. Jeremy Riggs, CFP®, has worked with many individuals at Marathon and understands the unique structure, strengths, and complexities of the company’s benefit programs.
As an independent advisor, Jeremy helps clients look beyond one-size-fits-all advice to create coordinated financial strategies that reflect your values, goals, and timelines. We’re here to clarify what you have access to—and how to use it well.
Common Planning Considerations for Marathon Employees
Through experience working with Marathon Petroleum employees, we’ve observed common areas where people often require greater clarity and personalized guidance. While each situation is unique, these are two examples of common considerations:
- 401(k), Thrift Plan & the Mega Backdoor Roth
Marathon’s retirement plan goes beyond the standard 401(k). In addition to contributing pre-tax or Roth dollars up to the IRS limits, you can also make after-tax contributions—potentially bringing your total annual contributions to $77,500, including catch-up if you’re over 50.
If your plan is configured to allow in-plan Roth conversions, those after-tax contributions can be automatically converted, turning them into future tax-free income. Even better, Marathon may continue matching those dollars. Many employees miss this opportunity simply because they don’t know it exists or haven’t toggled the right settings. We help you check your plan, clarify next steps, and take advantage of a strategy that can unlock thousands in match and tax-free growth over time.
- Investment Options: Don’t Settle for the “Kid’s Menu”
Most participants default to target-date funds or a small group of index funds—what we often refer to as the “kid’s menu.” It’s a simplified selection: target date finds, large-cap, mid-cap, bonds, maybe a stable value fund. But there’s a broader menu available.
Marathon’s plan gives you access to a self-directed brokerage feature that opens up thousands of mutual funds. With the right setup, you can align your investments more closely with your goals, fine-tune risk levels, and manage pre-tax vs. Roth dollars differently based on your retirement timeline. It’s one of the most powerful underused tools in the plan.
- Health Insurance Strategy: Classic vs. Saver with HSA
Choosing between the Classic PPO and Saver Plan with an HSA may seem like a routine annual decision—but it has long-term financial implications. Many employees stay with the Classic plan by default, assuming it provides better protection. But in many cases, the math favors the Saver.
With lower premiums, an employer HSA contribution, and the HSA’s triple-tax advantage, the Saver Plan can often leave you with more money in your pocket now and in retirement. For families with consistent or predictable care needs, the HSA becomes more than a health account—it becomes a planning opportunity. We help run the numbers and decide which option makes sense based on your usage and goals.
- Your Pension: Security That Buys You Flexibility
Marathon’s pension plan contributes 7% to 11% of eligible pay depending on your role and tenure, and long-term employees often accumulate six- or seven-figure balances. This “bulletproof money” provides a powerful foundation for retirement income.
At retirement, you’ll typically choose between taking a lump sum or annuitizing your benefit into a monthly payment. Each option has trade-offs—control and growth potential on one side, simplicity and income predictability on the other. We help you weigh both paths and design a strategy that uses your pension as a springboard, not a stand-alone solution.
- Equity Compensation: More Than Just a Bonus
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), stock options, and long-term incentive plans can add up quickly—but they also create complexity. Many employees hold onto their vested shares without a clear strategy, exposing themselves to concentration risk or unnecessary tax exposure.
We help you decide when it’s time to diversify, how to align equity decisions with life goals, and where those proceeds might best serve your priorities—whether it’s college savings, home purchases, charitable giving, or simply reducing overall risk. It’s not just about what you have; it’s about how you use it.
- Deferred Compensation: Strategy Required
If you’re eligible for Marathon’s Deferred Compensation plan, your decisions around contribution elections and distribution timing matter. Poorly timed distributions can overlap with pension income, RMDs, or Social Security, creating tax spikes that reduce what you keep.
These plans offer valuable flexibility, but they require long-term coordination. We help you evaluate your income trajectory, plan your elections years in advance, and align your deferred comp distributions with your broader retirement cash flow strategy.
- Income Protection: Filling the Gaps
Marathon’s group long-term disability coverage replaces only 60% of base salary—and doesn’t include bonuses or equity. It may also be taxed, delayed, or both during the claims process, which could leave a serious income gap at a time when you need certainty.
We help assess whether supplemental coverage makes sense and introduce solutions that can fill the shortfall. Options may include portable term policies with living benefits or individual disability income policies that are designed to travel with you, even if your career path changes.
These are simply common examples — additional opportunities often emerge through a more comprehensive review of your specific situation. If any of these concerns sound familiar, let’s have a conversation.
For Marathon Leaders: Advanced Compensation Strategy
If you’re in a leadership role—grade 13 or higher—you may have access to more advanced benefits like RSUs, LTIs, and Deferred Compensation. These tools are powerful, but they come with complexity. Without a clear plan, you could end up with unwanted tax burdens, overexposure to company stock, or misaligned income streams in retirement.
We help you take a more intentional approach. That includes timing equity sales to avoid capital gains surprises, spreading deferred compensation distributions across tax years, and converting wealth into funding sources for long-term priorities like education, property, or legacy goals. We call it leadership-level strategy, not because of your title, but because of what’s at stake.
Potential Risks Without a Comprehensive Plan
Over-concentration in company stock
Unexpected tax
burdens
Underutilized healthcare
or savings benefits
Gaps in insurance
coverage
Estate planning
oversights
Fequently Asked Questions About Marathon Petroleum's Benefits
If your plan allows after-tax contributions and in-plan Roth conversions, you may be eligible. We can help you confirm and, if needed, walk you through the setup.
In many cases, yes. The Saver Plan’s lower premiums and employer HSA contributions—combined with the triple-tax advantage of the HSA—can often put more money in your pocket over time.
Possibly. Marathon continues matching on after-tax contributions, but only if they’re turned on. Many people don’t realize they’re one small step away from capturing that value.
We’ll model both options and help determine what fits best with your retirement income needs, investment preferences, and risk tolerance.
Many long-term employees accumulate significant amounts of company stock through RSUs and deferred compensation. Over time, this can create concentrated exposure to one company’s performance. It’s important to understand how this fits into your broader financial picture and whether adjustments might reduce unnecessary risk.
That depends on your goals and tax situation. Holding them may expose you to risk; selling could create liquidity for other priorities. We help build a strategy around both.
Marathon’s benefits offer multiple healthcare options, but many employees overlook how pairing a high-deductible plan with an HSA can provide long-term savings and tax advantages. Reviewing these choices regularly can help ensure you’re balancing today’s needs with tomorrow’s opportunities.
Deferred compensation can create future tax challenges if not properly coordinated with other income sources like pensions, Social Security, and 401(k) withdrawals. Planning ahead can help reduce surprises and align distributions with your broader financial goals.
Employer-provided insurance often sounds reassuring but may leave significant gaps, especially when it comes to protecting income or providing flexibility in the event of serious illness. Reviewing how your coverage fits into your overall risk management strategy is key.
Employee benefits teams and plan administrators typically focus on explaining what benefits are available — not how to integrate those benefits into your overall financial plan. For questions about taxes, retirement income strategies, estate planning, and risk management, many employees choose to work with an advisor who understands how to bring everything together.
Considering Your Next Steps
If you’re interested in gaining more clarity around how your Marathon Petroleum benefits fit into your broader financial goals, we’re available to discuss your questions. A conversation can help explore whether additional planning may bring more alignment, efficiency, and confidence to your financial strategy.
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Our Marathon Petroleum Specialist
Jeremy has worked with Marathon Petroleum employees across various roles, providing guidance on how to navigate complex benefits and align them with broader financial goals.
His experience includes helping individuals evaluate stock compensation, healthcare choices, retirement income strategies, and estate planning considerations.
- Jacksonville Area
- Jeremy@BaseWealthManagement.com
- (904) 371-2656
