Survey
Respondent Profile
Plan Sizes
Unsurprisingly, the 2025 DC Survey: Plan Benchmarking report shows that plans on the small end of the spectrum generally pay the largest investment fees. The 401k Averages Book along with studies from the Investment Company Institute and Deloitte concur, while also reporting that overall, fees for defined contribution plans are trending down. Plan size not only affects cost but influences plan design and governance. Kristi K. Baker, managing partner, CSi Advisory Services, a division of Hub International, notes that plans on the spectrum’s large end typically have the largest committees and meet most often. As for plan design, she says, smaller plans tend to use more safe harbor features than do larger plans. The latter are the greatest embracers of automatic enrollment features and re-enrollment, as the survey shows. —RM
Plan Types
Sponsors of 403(b) and 457 plans are ahead of the game when it comes to offering retirement income help to participants. This is partly due to the history of 403(b)s as annuity-based plans. Phil Sherman, senior retirement plan consultant, Deschutes Investment Consulting LLC, points out that nonprofits are apt to use every tool in the toolbox to offer robust benefit programs that compete with for-profit counterparts, including the use of 457 plans as nonqualified plans. Nonqualified plan participants are good candidates to receive financial planning, and unfamiliarity with 457 plan nuances warrants more education, he says. —RM
Contributions
According to the 2025 PLANSPONSOR DC Survey: Plan Benchmarking report, more than six in 10 plan sponsors (63%) responded that they match employee deferrals, while nearly half (49%) said they make a nonelective or profit-sharing contribution. Some said they make nonelective or profit-sharing contributions to improve employees’ financial and retirement security, and some said they adopted a safe harbor plan design to avoid nondiscrimination testing, which requires a nonelective contribution. Sean Kelly, vice president, financial adviser, with Heffernan Financial Services, says, in his experience, the type of plan sponsor influences the choice of contribution more than does the size. “Nonelective contributions are more prevalent among our nonprofit clients, and, whereas matching is more common in general, it is much more in common in the for-profit space,” he says. —RM
Employer Match
Offering an employer matching contribution in defined contribution plans can incentivize employee participation. Match eligibility periods and vesting schedules that favor plan participants can be further incentives and used for employee attraction, depending on plan sponsor goals. The 2025 DC Survey: Plan Benchmarking report shows that 58% of DC plan sponsors tie match eligibility to plan eligibility. Kristi K. Baker, of CSi Advisory Services, says sponsors continue to reduce waiting periods for eligibility to attract employees, but, last year, her firm had several clients modify their vesting schedules to a longer period with the goal of rewarding and encouraging employee tenure. —RM
Best and Worst, by Industry
Below, we showcase the top and bottom performers from the 47 industries represented in the survey. Higher participation rates and average account balances can be expected from industries that pay higher salaries. High employee turnover likely explains low participation rates in the restaurant and food services industry, while the availability of defined benefit plans contributes to the low DC plan participation rate for the government/public works sector. Kim Cochrane, director, client services, at Hub International Mid-Atlantic, notes that traditionally, government employers have offered richer benefits to make up for lower salaries. “We have found that, when employees are offered generous employer contributions, they are less likely to save their own money.” However, she says, government employees who do contribute are generally higher earners who can better afford to save—one explanation for why government/public works is among the top five industries in average deferral rate. Phil Sherman, senior retirement plan consultant at Deschutes Investment Consulting LLC, says what may be the biggest factor in lower participation rates for government plans is that each state is responsible for determining whether it will allow automatic enrollment, and many states will not. —RM
Participation Rate
1 | Telecommunications | 92.0% |
2 | Chemicals & Mining | 88.0% |
3 | Architecture | 87.7% |
4 | Pharmaceuticals | 86.0% |
5 | Biotech | 85.4% |
43 | Government/Public works – City/Municipal | 63.0% |
44 | Government/Public works – County, state and federal | 61.9% |
45 | Consumer services | 61.3% |
46 | Religious organizations | 55.5% |
47 | Restaurant & Food service | 52.3% |
Average Account Balance
1 | Law firm | $329,147 |
2 | Telecommunications | $278,183 |
3 | Accounting/CPA Firm/Financial planning | $215,781 |
4 | Financial services | $211,520 |
5 | Research & Development | $178,974 |
43 | Religious organizations | $60,640 |
44 | Healthcare organization (not for profit) | $60,223 |
45 | Social services | $57,020 |
46 | Government/Public works – County, state and federal | $50,758 |
47 | Government/Public works – City/Municipal | $50,264 |
Average Deferral Rate
1 | Government/Public works – City/Municipal | 17.8% |
2 | Government/Public works – County, state and federal | 13.3% |
3 | Telecommunications | 10.4% |
4 | Law firm | 10.0% |
5 | Research & Development | 9.9% |
43 | Restaurant & Food service | 7.4% |
44 | Social services | 7.4% |
45 | Banking – Commercial/Retail/Other | 7.0% |
46 | Equipment – Sales/Leasing/Service | 6.9% |
47 | Agriculture | 6.9% |
Immediate Eligibility
1 | Religious organizations | 73.3% |
2 | Aerospace & Defense | 65.5% |
3 | Telecommunications | 62.5% |
4 | Biotech | 61.9% |
5 | Healthcare organization (not for profit) | 61.9% |
43 | Real estate | 23.9% |
44 | Investment Banking & Holding companies | 23.6% |
45 | Equipment – Sales/Leasing/Service | 23.3% |
46 | Restaurant & Food service | 21.2% |
47 | Wholesale | 20.3% |
Immediate Vesting
1 | Pharmaceuticals | 66.7% |
2 | Religious organizations | 58.3% |
3 | Education – Higher ed | 54.5% |
4 | Chemicals & Mining | 48.1% |
5 | Membership Organization/Industry Association/Labor Union | 47.1% |
43 | Media/Communications/Publishing | 17.4% |
44 | Architecture | 15.4% |
45 | Equipment – Sales/Leasing/Service | 14.8% |
46 | Government/Public Works – County, State and federal | 13.8% |
47 | Government/Public Works – City/Municipal | 8.2% |
2025 PLANSPONSOR DC Survey Plan Benchmarking and Industry Reports
Our 2025 Plan Benchmarking and Industry Reports feature proprietary data collected by PLANSPONSOR in its annual Defined Contribution Survey. The reports highlight various plan design features and outcomes from 6 plan types and 48 industries.
You can leverage the 2025 PLANSPONSOR Reports* to:- Build trust with advisers and provide new tools to your staff and network
- 100+ pages in PDF format
- Compare plan design with peers and competitors, and improve fiduciary oversight
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Contact Rob Reif / 212-217-6906 / robert.reif@issmediasolutions.com