NAICS 522 Retirement Plan Benchmarks

Industry benchmarks aggregated by NAICS classification. Sourced from 12,350 Form 5500 filings for plan year 2024.

Headline numbers (2024)

Plans: 12,350
Total assets: $428.6B
Total participants: 233,025
Median expense ratio: 0.29%
Median employer contribution per active participant: $2,982
Median account balance: $89,282
3-year asset growth (2022–2024): +27.5%

Expense ratio distribution

25th percentile: 0.11%
Median: 0.29%
75th percentile: 0.64%

Where the fees go (average mix)

Admin / Recordkeeping: 27.5%
Investment Management: 21.1%
Audit: 2.9%
Legal: 0.2%

Employer contribution generosity

Median per active participant: $2,982
Plans with $0 employer match: 2,566 (20.8%)

3-year trend

Year	Plans	Assets	Participants	Median fee	Median employer $
2022	11,832	$336.3B	217,608	0.32%	$2,853
2023	12,603	$389.7B	234,971	0.28%	$2,903
2024	12,350	$428.6B	233,025	0.29%	$2,982

Methodology

All metrics are calculated from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 annual filings. The slice "NAICS 522" includes 12,350 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/522.