NAICS 236 Retirement Plan Benchmarks

Industry benchmarks aggregated by NAICS classification. Sourced from 21,596 Form 5500 filings for plan year 2024.

Headline numbers (2024)

Plans: 21,596
Total assets: $175.9B
Total participants: 331,955
Median expense ratio: 0.47%
Median employer contribution per active participant: $2,476
Median account balance: $60,548
3-year asset growth (2022–2024): +74.6%

Expense ratio distribution

25th percentile: 0.19%
Median: 0.47%
75th percentile: 1.57%

Where the fees go (average mix)

Admin / Recordkeeping: 24.0%
Investment Management: 17.9%
Audit: 2.3%
Legal: 0.4%

Employer contribution generosity

Median per active participant: $2,476
Plans with $0 employer match: 4,122 (19.1%)

3-year trend

Year	Plans	Assets	Participants	Median fee	Median employer $
2022	18,020	$100.8B	264,837	0.52%	$2,320
2023	20,514	$158.7B	313,934	0.46%	$2,414
2024	21,596	$175.9B	331,955	0.47%	$2,476

Methodology

All metrics are calculated from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 annual filings. The slice "NAICS 236" includes 21,596 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/236.