If you’re a business owner, HR leader, or plan sponsor, you probably know how important your company’s 401(k) plan is—both for your employees and for attracting top talent. But when was the last time you took a close look at how your plan stacks up against others?
You might be surprised how many employers are paying too much in administrative fees or offering underperforming investment options without realizing it. That’s where 401(k) benchmarking comes in.
At Wittrock Financial Group, we’ve helped many businesses take a deep dive into their plans to uncover savings, boost performance, and make sure they’re competitive in today’s retirement landscape.
So, What Is 401(k) Benchmarking?
Think of it like this: just like you’d shop around to compare prices on insurance or software, 401(k) benchmarking is a way to compare your retirement plan to others of similar size or industry. It can tell you if you’re overpaying on fees, missing out on better investment options, or simply not offering a plan that’s competitive.
Benchmarking helps answer questions like:
Are we paying too much in administrative or advisory fees?
Are our investment funds performing well—or just coasting?
How does our plan compare to others when it comes to employee participation and savings rates?
Why Benchmarking Your 401(k) Plan Matters
Let’s break it down.
1. You Have a Fiduciary Responsibility
As a plan sponsor, you’re legally required to act in the best interest of your employees. That includes making sure fees are reasonable and that the plan is working as intended. Benchmarking helps you document that you’re doing your due diligence.
2. Fees Add Up—Fast
Even a 0.50% difference in investment or admin fees can significantly reduce an employee’s retirement savings over time. If your plan includes high-fee mutual funds or outdated recordkeeping arrangements, your employees could be losing thousands by retirement age.
3. You Can Improve Employee Outcomes
A better-designed, more efficient plan helps employees save more, invest smarter, and feel more confident about their future. And let’s face it—retirement stress impacts productivity, so this matters to your business too.
4. It Helps You Stay Competitive
Employees today care about benefits—and a strong 401(k) can be a deciding factor when someone’s choosing between job offers. Benchmarking your plan ensures you’re keeping up with what others are offering.
Trends: Lower Fees, Smarter Investments
Here’s what we’re seeing in the market when it comes to 401(k) plan competitiveness and investment efficiency:
✅ Shift Toward Low-Cost Funds
Many companies are moving away from high-fee mutual funds and toward low-cost index funds and ETFs. It’s not about being cheap—it’s about being smart. Low-cost investments often outperform pricier alternatives over time, especially after fees.
At Wittrock Financial Group, we regularly help employers rework their investment lineups to focus on investment efficiency—keeping costs low while maintaining strong performance.
✅ Lower Record keeping and Admin Costs
Thanks to technology and competition among providers, recordkeeping fees have dropped over the past several years. But if you haven’t reviewed your plan recently, you could still be overpaying.
We often see plans paying $150–$200 per participant in admin fees when peers are paying less than half that. A simple review can reveal opportunities to cut costs without sacrificing service.
✅ No More Hidden Revenue Sharing
Revenue sharing used to be the norm—where investment companies quietly paid part of their fees to plan administrators. Today, more employers are pushing for clean, transparent fee structures where participants know exactly what they’re paying for.
We help clients move toward zero-revenue-share funds and implement fee-leveling strategies to ensure fairness for all employees.
✅ Personalized Advice Is Growing
More plans are offering managed accounts or digital advice services to help participants make better investment choices. These tools can lead to better outcomes, especially for those closer to retirement.
But they also come with fees, so it’s important to compare the costs and value carefully—something we include in our benchmarking process.
How to Benchmark Your 401(k) Plan (Without Getting Overwhelmed)
Benchmarking might sound technical, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s a simple approach:
Look at Your Fees
Break down what you’re paying in investment expenses, record keeping, advisory, and other admin costs. Are they in line with plans of your size?Review Fund Performance
Are your plan’s funds keeping up with their benchmarks and peers? Are you offering too many overlapping options?Check Plan Design
Look at employee participation, average deferral rates, and whether you’re using features like auto-enrollment or matching contributions effectively.Evaluate Your Providers
Are your service providers still competitive? Sometimes a quick RFP (request for proposal) can help confirm you’re getting good value—or show you it’s time for a change.
At Wittrock Financial Group, we offer a complementary benchmarking review to help business owners and plan sponsors assess exactly where they stand—and where they can improve.
Signs Your 401(k) May Not Be Competitive
Here are a few red flags we often see:
Investment fund expense ratios over 1.00%
Recordkeeping or admin fees that haven’t been reviewed in 3+ years
Employees taking loans or early withdrawals frequently
Low participation or deferral rates
No documented process for reviewing fees or fund performance
If any of these apply, it might be time to take a closer look.
Final Thoughts
Your 401(k) plan is more than just a checkbox benefit—it’s a core part of your total compensation strategy and your responsibility as a plan sponsor. 401(k) benchmarking helps you stay on top of costs, improve participant results, and stay competitive in your industry.
At Wittrock Financial Group, we’re here to help make that process easy, transparent, and actionable.
Want to see how your 401(k) plan compares?
Let’s talk. We offer a no-cost, no-pressure benchmarking review that gives you a clear picture of your plan’s strengths—and where it can improve.
📞 Reach out to the Wittrock Financial Group team today.
