SAN DIEGO, Calif. (21 February, 2017) – BrightScope (a Strategic Insight business ), the leading provider of independent financial information and investment research to the USA retirement industry, is proud to announce the eighth BrightScope year-end ranking of the Top 30 401k Plans List, recognizing companies with the best 401k plans containing more than $1 billion in assets.
“This is our eighth year compiling the year-end Top 30 ratings list, and yet again we see companies offer higher quality plans,” said Brooks Herman, Head of Data & Research at BrightScope. “We have witnessed average plan ratings improve each year in the Top 30 List – and this year is no different. This demonstrates that America’s employees and employers recognize how critical a high quality 401k plan is to maintaining an acceptable standard of living in retirement.”
Key Statistics of BrightScope’s Top 30 List:
- Target Date Funds represent over 10% of assets in the Top 30 List
- Index Funds push up: they represent almost 41% of assets in the list, a 6% rise since last year
- Average participation rate in a Top 30 plan was over 96%
- Average salary deferral over $14,500 per participant in a Top 30 plan
- Average company generosity tops $13,000 per participant in the list
Noteworthy findings since BrightScope’s last release of this list:
- Delta Pilots Savings Plan takes the #1 Spot with a 92.6 rating. Total Plan Cost of under 25 bps, company generosity and salary deferrals accelerated this plan to the List top position.
- Bayer Corporation moved up 12 places with more than $3,700 in company generosity per participant and more than $3,000 in salary deferrals per participant.
- The NFL Player Annuity Program joined the Top 30 List, as it becomes a member of the NFL Player Second Career Savings Plan. Both plans are affiliated with the National Football League Players Association and the National Football League Management Council.
- Federal National Mortgage Association Retirement Savings Plan for Employees jumps from #29 to #21 in this year’s List as costs drift down while salary deferrals and company generosity increase from last year.
The complete list of Top 30 401k Plans with more than $1 billion in assets:
BrightScope obtains an increasing amount of its data directly from plan sponsors and record keepers, and augments these primary sources with data from publicly available sources such as the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission. By analyzing and interpreting this data, BrightScope provides unprecedented transparency into the 401k industry.
The BrightScope Rating was developed by BrightScope, Inc. with the help of leading academics and independent 401k fiduciaries. By analyzing more than 200 individual data points, the BrightScope Rating algorithm calculates a single numerical value for each 401k plan. The data points examined cover broad categories such as total plan cost, company generosity and investment menu quality.
BrightScope has rated nearly 50,000 401k and 403b plans, spanning more than 57 million workers and over $4 trillion in assets. Industry adoption of the BrightScope Rating will lead to more cost-effective plans, increased participation rates, higher employee satisfaction and better outcomes for the 60 million employees who depend on their 401k plan for retirement.