NAICS 541 Retirement Plan Benchmarks

Industry benchmarks aggregated by NAICS classification. Sourced from 191,526 Form 5500 filings for plan year 2024.

Headline numbers (2024)

Plans: 191,526
Total assets: $1723.3B
Total participants: 2,628,848
Median expense ratio: 0.40%
Median employer contribution per active participant: $3,208
Median account balance: $72,806
3-year asset growth (2022–2024): +43.2%

Expense ratio distribution

25th percentile: 0.13%
Median: 0.40%
75th percentile: 2.14%

Where the fees go (average mix)

Admin / Recordkeeping: 22.5%
Investment Management: 21.4%
Audit: 2.6%
Legal: 0.1%

Employer contribution generosity

Median per active participant: $3,208
Plans with $0 employer match: 41,193 (21.5%)

3-year trend

Year	Plans	Assets	Participants	Median fee	Median employer $
2022	174,458	$1203.4B	2,373,744	0.48%	$3,112
2023	187,271	$1531.9B	2,581,001	0.40%	$3,150
2024	191,526	$1723.3B	2,628,848	0.40%	$3,208

Methodology

All metrics are calculated from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 annual filings. The slice "NAICS 541" includes 191,526 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/541-professional-scientific-and-technical-services.