NAICS 523 Retirement Plan Benchmarks

Industry benchmarks aggregated by NAICS classification. Sourced from 21,187 Form 5500 filings for plan year 2024.

Headline numbers (2024)

Plans: 21,187
Total assets: $506.9B
Total participants: 3,416,359
Median expense ratio: 0.11%
Median employer contribution per active participant: $6,470
Median account balance: $153,059
3-year asset growth (2022–2024): +18.1%

Expense ratio distribution

25th percentile: 0.02%
Median: 0.11%
75th percentile: 0.34%

Where the fees go (average mix)

Admin / Recordkeeping: 28.2%
Investment Management: 55.0%
Audit: 7.8%
Legal: 0.5%

Employer contribution generosity

Median per active participant: $6,470
Plans with $0 employer match: —

3-year trend

Year	Plans	Assets	Participants	Median fee	Median employer $
2022	20,089	$429.2B	3,334,657	0.15%	—
2023	20,881	$485.2B	3,464,644	0.11%	—
2024	21,187	$506.9B	3,416,359	0.11%	$6,470

Methodology

All metrics are calculated from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 annual filings. The slice "NAICS 523" 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/523.