You can always change or edit the amount you contribute to your Emergency Savings Account (ESA) at any time. This article serves as a guide to adjusting your ESA contribution amount, as well as stopping contributions if needed.

Remember that all contributions to your ESA are after-tax deductions. This means that any funds you put towards your account will be deducted from your paycheck after taxes (federal, state, local, Social Security, and Medicare taxes, for example) are withheld.

Depending on your employer, you may see different features for your ESA. If your employer offers an ESA with deductions from your paycheck, click here. If you save into your ESA via bank account deposit, click here.

ESA via Bank Account Deposit

1. To begin, log in to your saver portal.
2. From your “Emergency Savings” dashboard, select My Savings Deposit.
3. On the “Savings Deposit” page, you can view your recurring deposits and make any changes, as well as complete a one-time deposit. To modify your recurring deposits, select Edit.

4. You will be prompted to choose the amount you wish to deposit, set up a recurring deposit schedule, and confirm bank account information. Once you’ve made your selections, click Update recurring deposit.
5. Congratulations! You’ve successfully adjusted your ESA contributions.

ESA With Deductions from Your Paycheck

1. To begin, log in to your Vestwell ESA portal.

2. Navigate to the homepage of your portal by clicking on the home icon on the left-hand side of the screen.

3. Once you are on the homepage of your ESA portal, you will see a widget that says “Savings Per Pay Check.” It contains your savings rate as a dollar or percentage. On this “Savings Per Pay Check” widget, select Edit to make updates to your contribution amount.

4. You will then be brought to a screen to enter your new savings rate or savings amount.

You can choose to either:

• Save a percentage of each paycheck. For example, if you choose to save 5% per paycheck, you’ll save 5 pennies for every dollar you earn. 
• Save a specific dollar amount per paycheck. For example, if you choose to contribute $30 per paycheck, then $30 will be taken out of your paycheck. 

5. Once you have edited your desired rate or amount, select Update.

• Note: You should see your new savings rate or savings amount reflected in your ESA portal dashboard. You’ll also receive an email confirming your changes. The changes you made could take more than one pay cycle to take effect.

How to Stop ESA Contributions

If you need to stop making contributions to your ESA for whatever reason, you can stop your contributions using the “Savings Per Pay Check” widget on your dashboard. When you select Edit on this widget, just set your savings rate or savings dollar amount to 0% or $0, respectively. Then, select Update.

Note: The change you made could take more than one pay cycle to take effect. When you are ready to save in your ESA again, you can always change your contribution amount to your desired savings percentage or dollar amount by following the steps detailed above.