Research
What the filings say.
Every employer-sponsored benefit plan in the country files a Form 5500, and almost nobody reads them in aggregate. We do — 4.2M filings from 1M+ employers, 2021–2025. These are the findings we thought were worth writing up, with the method and the sample size attached to every number so you can argue with them.
- Retirement9 min read
What 401(k) Plans Actually Pay: Fee Benchmarks From 631,893 Plans
Plan-paid expenses fall by three quarters as a plan grows. Here is the full curve, by headcount and by industry, from the filings themselves rather than a survey.
Read the analysis → - Retirement8 min read
How Often Do Employers Actually Switch 401(k) Providers?
Two defensible definitions of “switched” produce answers that differ by more than a factor of two. Only one of them describes a lost client.
Read the analysis → - Research8 min read
High Fees Don’t Predict a 401(k) Switch. Here’s What Does.
The signals advisors prospect on — high fees, falling assets, shrinking headcount — barely move the switching rate. One unglamorous variable moves it a lot.
Read the analysis → - Retirement7 min read
Who Won and Lost 401(k) Plans in 2024
Plan counts, not assets. The middle of the market moves far more than the headline names, and consolidation shows up as clearly as competition.
Read the analysis → - Health & Welfare8 min read
What Brokers Actually Earn on Group Benefits
Medical pays 4.7% of premium. Long-term disability pays 11.9%. The disclosure that makes this measurable has been public since 2009.
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