> You contribute some % of your paycheck and your employer matches some amount of that (potentially with a vesting schedule)
This is actually completely optional, many employers do not. For example mine does not do any matching or contributions
> The money can be invested, and then at some age (55.5 i believe?) you can access the money without being taxed. There is a maximum you can contribute per year etc etc.
So the tax side of this depends on if the 401k was done as Roth or traditional. Traditional IRAs are tax advantaged but not tax free. Contributions are pre-tax from the employee's paycheck. Roth on the other hand is post tax and tax free on withdrawal (assuming no penalties).
This is actually completely optional, many employers do not. For example mine does not do any matching or contributions
> The money can be invested, and then at some age (55.5 i believe?) you can access the money without being taxed. There is a maximum you can contribute per year etc etc.
So the tax side of this depends on if the 401k was done as Roth or traditional. Traditional IRAs are tax advantaged but not tax free. Contributions are pre-tax from the employee's paycheck. Roth on the other hand is post tax and tax free on withdrawal (assuming no penalties).