NAICS 236 Retirement Plan Benchmarks

Industry benchmarks aggregated by NAICS classification. Sourced from 22,124 Form 5500 filings for plan year 2024.

Headline numbers (2024)

Plans: 22,124
Total assets: $164.1B
Total participants: 2,131,752
Median expense ratio: 0.25%
Median employer contribution per active participant: $2,593
Median account balance: $55,496
3-year asset growth (2022–2024): +6.9%

Expense ratio distribution

25th percentile: 0.11%
Median: 0.25%
75th percentile: 0.47%

Where the fees go (average mix)

Admin / Recordkeeping: 37.8%
Investment Management: 50.1%
Audit: 6.1%
Legal: 1.8%

Employer contribution generosity

Median per active participant: $2,593
Plans with $0 employer match: —

3-year trend

Year	Plans	Assets	Participants	Median fee	Median employer $
2022	20,279	$153.5B	2,201,648	0.39%	—
2023	21,552	$176.2B	2,306,603	0.27%	—
2024	22,124	$164.1B	2,131,752	0.25%	$2,593

Methodology

All metrics are calculated from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 annual filings. The slice "NAICS 236" is served from the accepted-generation projection 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.