NAICS 238 Retirement Plan Benchmarks

Industry benchmarks aggregated by NAICS classification. Sourced from 53,953 Form 5500 filings for plan year 2024.

Headline numbers (2024)

Plans: 53,953
Total assets: $537.0B
Total participants: 851,082
Median expense ratio: 0.53%
Median employer contribution per active participant: $2,081
Median account balance: $50,728
3-year asset growth (2022–2024): +76.0%

Expense ratio distribution

25th percentile: 0.24%
Median: 0.53%
75th percentile: 1.21%

Where the fees go (average mix)

Admin / Recordkeeping: 22.9%
Investment Management: 20.7%
Audit: 2.7%
Legal: 1.8%

Employer contribution generosity

Median per active participant: $2,081
Plans with $0 employer match: 10,614 (19.7%)

3-year trend

Year	Plans	Assets	Participants	Median fee	Median employer $
2022	44,877	$305.1B	680,598	0.59%	$1,964
2023	51,390	$483.8B	811,675	0.53%	$2,029
2024	53,953	$537.0B	851,082	0.53%	$2,081

Methodology

All metrics are calculated from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 annual filings. The slice "NAICS 238" includes 53,953 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/238.