Source
Every figure on this site comes from the Form 5500 series filings that employee benefit plans submit annually to the U.S. Department of Labor, published as public structured datasets and updated by the Department roughly monthly. We do not use estimates, surveys, or third-party data.
Scope
We cover defined-contribution retirement plans large enough to file the full Form 5500 with Schedule H financials — generally plans with 100 or more participants. Small plans file a short form without comparable financial detail and are not included.
The administrative expense ratio
Our headline figure divides the plan's reported total administrative expenses (Schedule H, line 2i(5)) by its average net assets for the year. This deliberately excludes benefit payments and distributions, which are money returned to participants, not a cost of running the plan. Dividing total expenses by assets — a method we have seen elsewhere — inflates apparent "fees" by an order of magnitude and is not a meaningful measure.
What this ratio does not capture
Most of what a participant actually pays in a 401(k) is embedded in fund expense ratios, which are netted out of investment returns and are not reported in the structured public data. A plan can show low administrative expenses while offering expensive funds, and vice versa. Treat our ratio as one comparable, consistently-measured component of cost — not the all-in number.
Peer benchmarks
Percentile benchmarks compare each plan against all plans in the same asset-size bracket for the same plan year. Brackets: under $1M, $1M–$10M, $10M–$50M, $50M–$250M, $250M–$1B, over $1B.
Timing and accuracy
Plans file roughly seven months after their plan year ends, often with extensions, so the latest available data typically describes a plan year one to two years back. Figures are as reported by plan sponsors; filings can contain errors and amendments, and we reflect what was filed. Every page links to the Department of Labor's EFAST2 search where the underlying filing can be verified.