NAICS 524 Retirement Plan Benchmarks

Industry benchmarks aggregated by NAICS classification. Sourced from 17,432 Form 5500 filings for plan year 2024.

Headline numbers (2024)

Plans: 17,432
Total assets: $639.5B
Total participants: 178,829
Median expense ratio: 0.24%
Median employer contribution per active participant: $2,806
Median account balance: $85,143
3-year asset growth (2022–2024): +23.5%

Expense ratio distribution

25th percentile: 0.07%
Median: 0.24%
75th percentile: 0.80%

Where the fees go (average mix)

Admin / Recordkeeping: 25.0%
Investment Management: 18.9%
Audit: 4.2%
Legal: 0.1%

Employer contribution generosity

Median per active participant: $2,806
Plans with $0 employer match: 3,026 (17.4%)

3-year trend

Year	Plans	Assets	Participants	Median fee	Median employer $
2022	15,794	$517.7B	163,259	0.30%	$2,791
2023	17,035	$588.5B	176,673	0.26%	$2,815
2024	17,432	$639.5B	178,829	0.24%	$2,806

Methodology

All metrics are calculated from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 annual filings. The slice "NAICS 524" includes 17,432 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/524.