NAICS 517 Retirement Plan Benchmarks

Industry benchmarks aggregated by NAICS classification. Sourced from 2,957 Form 5500 filings for plan year 2024.

Headline numbers (2024)

Plans: 2,957
Total assets: $204.7B
Total participants: 50,470
Median expense ratio: 0.33%
Median employer contribution per active participant: $2,680
Median account balance: $66,206
3-year asset growth (2022–2024): +15.0%

Expense ratio distribution

25th percentile: 0.12%
Median: 0.33%
75th percentile: 1.06%

Where the fees go (average mix)

Admin / Recordkeeping: 21.9%
Investment Management: 22.8%
Audit: 2.3%
Legal: 0.5%

Employer contribution generosity

Median per active participant: $2,680
Plans with $0 employer match: 691 (23.4%)

3-year trend

Year	Plans	Assets	Participants	Median fee	Median employer $
2022	2,785	$178.0B	43,814	0.36%	$2,578
2023	2,993	$197.7B	49,088	0.31%	$2,611
2024	2,957	$204.7B	50,470	0.33%	$2,680

Methodology

All metrics are calculated from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 annual filings. The slice "NAICS 517" includes 2,957 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/517.