<100 participants · Defined Benefit Retirement Plan Benchmarks

Plan-size benchmark across all industries and states. Sourced from 42,086 Form 5500 filings for plan year 2024.

Headline numbers (2024)

Plans: 42,086
Total assets: $154.6B
Total participants: 467,401
Median expense ratio: 1.08%
Median employer contribution per active participant: $26,854
Median account balance: $164,136
3-year asset growth (2022–2024): +29.7%

Expense ratio distribution

25th percentile: 0.50%
Median: 1.08%
75th percentile: 3.05%

Where the fees go (average mix)

Admin / Recordkeeping: 18.4%
Investment Management: 15.8%
Audit: 2.6%
Legal: 1.4%

Employer contribution generosity

Median per active participant: $26,854
Plans with $0 employer match: 13,759 (32.7%)

3-year trend

Year	Plans	Assets	Participants	Median fee	Median employer $
2022	38,674	$119.2B	412,008	1.08%	$31,252
2023	42,843	$152.9B	472,811	1.14%	$28,074
2024	42,086	$154.6B	467,401	1.08%	$26,854

Methodology

All metrics are calculated from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 annual filings. The slice "<100 participants · Defined Benefit" includes 42,086 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/cohort/lt_100-db.