401(k) fee benchmarking: are your plan's fees reasonable for what you get?
We compare what your plan pays and the services it receives with available provider proposals and relevant market data. You'll get a side-by-side comparison and our recommendations.
What does fee benchmarking compare?
We start with your fee disclosures and service agreements. Then we compare what your plan pays and the services it receives with available provider proposals and market data. We’ll explain the differences and where a comparison has limits.
Which fees to look at, and who pays each one
Recordkeeping and administration fees pay for keeping the accounts and running the plan. Fund expenses usually come out of the investments themselves, so they won't show up on an invoice. Then there are advisory fees and charges to individual employees, such as loan fees. For each one, find out who pays: the company, the plan or the employee. If fees are bundled, ask what's included and how each provider gets paid, so the same cost isn't counted twice.
Compare the support, too.
A lower price can mean less service. Compare the work each arrangement actually covers: administration, investment services and employee education. If your people work shifts, job sites or routes, ask how they get help and what your payroll team will still have to handle. Those differences should be clear before you decide whether to stay put or make a change.
Bring what you already have.
Start with your provider fee disclosures, current service agreements and investment lineup with expenses. Recent invoices and plan-level statements can help explain how charges are paid. Add your questions about billing, provider support or services that are hard to understand. You don't need every document to get started. Our review process explains how to prepare.
What you get from benchmarking
You get a side-by-side cost and service comparison with our recommendations. Depending on what we find, those may cover plan design or investments as well as fees. We'll be clear about what the numbers support, where services differ and what needs more digging. You can take the comparison to your current providers or to anyone else responsible for the plan. Recommendations do not guarantee savings or require switching providers.
What happens after the comparison
Sometimes the answer is a better explanation from your current provider, more detail on one charge or a conversation about other service options. You can take those questions back to your providers yourself or ask us for ongoing help. If you hire us, we'll set out the scope, fees and responsibilities first. Either way, the decision is yours.
Start with your questions about plan costs.
In a free plan review, we'll go over what you pay today and what you want to understand better. If benchmarking makes sense, we'll talk through its scope and the information it needs.
A free 45-minute review with a written report of initial findings and next steps. No obligation. Detailed benchmarking and fund scoring are separate services.