North Carolina Retirement Plan Benchmarks

Statewide benchmarks across every Form 5500 filer headquartered in the state. Sourced from 22,077 Form 5500 filings for plan year 2024.

Headline numbers (2024)

Plans: 22,077
Total assets: $458.1B
Total participants: 5,775,379
Median expense ratio: 0.22%
Median employer contribution per active participant: $2,204
Median account balance: $53,209
3-year asset growth (2022–2024): +18.3%

Expense ratio distribution

25th percentile: 0.08%
Median: 0.22%
75th percentile: 0.44%

Where the fees go (average mix)

Admin / Recordkeeping: 43.1%
Investment Management: 48.1%
Audit: 4.2%
Legal: 0.3%

Employer contribution generosity

Median per active participant: $2,204
Plans with $0 employer match: —

3-year trend

Year	Plans	Assets	Participants	Median fee	Median employer $
2022	21,338	$387.2B	5,731,811	0.37%	—
2023	21,869	$433.8B	5,779,590	0.23%	—
2024	22,077	$458.1B	5,775,379	0.22%	$2,204

Methodology

All metrics are calculated from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 annual filings. The slice "North Carolina" 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/north-carolina.