<100 participants · 403(b) Retirement Plan Benchmarks

Plan-size benchmark across all industries and states. Sourced from 10,734 Form 5500 filings for plan year 2024.

Headline numbers (2024)

Plans: 10,734
Total assets: $27.7B
Total participants: 285,577
Median expense ratio: 0.20%
Median employer contribution per active participant: $2,151
Median account balance: $44,870
3-year asset growth (2022–2024): +57.6%

Expense ratio distribution

25th percentile: 0.05%
Median: 0.20%
75th percentile: 0.79%

Where the fees go (average mix)

Admin / Recordkeeping: 47.2%
Investment Management: 8.7%
Audit: 2.5%
Legal: 0.0%

Employer contribution generosity

Median per active participant: $2,151
Plans with $0 employer match: 3,098 (28.9%)

3-year trend

Year	Plans	Assets	Participants	Median fee	Median employer $
2022	8,488	$17.5B	198,242	0.24%	$2,191
2023	10,832	$25.5B	282,454	0.18%	$2,076
2024	10,734	$27.7B	285,577	0.20%	$2,151

Methodology

All metrics are calculated from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 annual filings. The slice "<100 participants · 403(b)" includes 10,734 plans for plan year 2024. Medians use percentile_cont over reported values; zero/null values are excluded from rate-style metrics.

Citation: PlanProvider.Pro, Form 5500 Benchmarks 2024. Free for editorial use with attribution + link to https://planprovider.pro/benchmarks/plan-size/lt_100-403b.