California Retirement Plan Benchmarks

Statewide benchmarks across every Form 5500 filer headquartered in the state. Sourced from 149,784 Form 5500 filings for plan year 2024.

Headline numbers (2024)

Plans: 149,784
Total assets: $5232.1B
Total participants: 20,663,929
Median expense ratio: 0.16%
Median employer contribution per active participant: $2,758
Median account balance: $50,906
3-year asset growth (2022–2024): +28.8%

Expense ratio distribution

25th percentile: 0.04%
Median: 0.16%
75th percentile: 0.38%

Where the fees go (average mix)

Admin / Recordkeeping: 32.2%
Investment Management: 57.1%
Audit: 6.6%
Legal: 1.2%

Employer contribution generosity

Median per active participant: $2,758
Plans with $0 employer match: —

3-year trend

Year	Plans	Assets	Participants	Median fee	Median employer $
2022	138,796	$4063.2B	23,646,383	0.27%	—
2023	148,315	$4793.4B	23,539,788	0.17%	—
2024	149,784	$5232.1B	20,663,929	0.16%	$2,758

Methodology

All metrics are calculated from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 annual filings. The slice "California" 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/state/california.