NAICS 221 Retirement Plan Benchmarks

Industry benchmarks aggregated by NAICS classification. Sourced from 3,355 Form 5500 filings for plan year 2024.

Headline numbers (2024)

Plans: 3,355
Total assets: $400.9B
Total participants: 54,096
Median expense ratio: 0.26%
Median employer contribution per active participant: $3,301
Median account balance: $64,151
3-year asset growth (2022–2024): +13.6%

Expense ratio distribution

25th percentile: 0.08%
Median: 0.26%
75th percentile: 0.68%

Where the fees go (average mix)

Admin / Recordkeeping: 19.2%
Investment Management: 26.7%
Audit: 2.3%
Legal: 0.7%

Employer contribution generosity

Median per active participant: $3,301
Plans with $0 employer match: 605 (18.0%)

3-year trend

Year	Plans	Assets	Participants	Median fee	Median employer $
2022	2,752	$352.9B	41,068	0.25%	$3,158
2023	3,107	$385.5B	49,420	0.25%	$3,324
2024	3,355	$400.9B	54,096	0.26%	$3,301

Methodology

All metrics are calculated from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 annual filings. The slice "NAICS 221" includes 3,355 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/industry/221.