On my employer form 403b withdrawal form, I checked off the option stating to max out 403b contributions, which should mean $13,000 contributed a year, or $500 every 2 weeks ($500 x 26 = $13,000). Yet, when I get my paycheck, it says it only deducted $481.48, which would only contribute $12,518.48 in 52 weeks. Does anyone know what's going on here?

Is it possible that you have 27 pay periods in 2004?

It sounds like your employer plans to have a 53-week reporting this year (note that 27*your amount is the correct amount). There are 53 Fridays this year.

Ah, I see. That was my guess, because multiplying the number by 27 gave 13k. Thank you very much.