提供401（k）计划的经济学：服务、费用和开支，2024年

What’s InsideSarah Holden, Senior Director, Retirement and Investor Research; Michael Libanati, Research Assistant; and Elena BaroneChism, Deputy General Counsel, Retirement Policy, prepared this report.Suggested citation:Holden, Sarah, Michael Libanati, and Elena Barone Chism. 2025. “The Economics of Providing 401(k)Plans: Services, Fees, and Expenses, 2024.”ICI Research Perspective31, no. 5 (July). Available atwww.ici.org/files/2025/per31-05.pdf.For a complete set of data files for each figure in this report, as well as additional appendix figures, seewww.ici.org/files/2025/per31-05-data.xlsx.Some of these data files include additional time series data not presented in this report.The following conditions, unless otherwise specified, apply to all data in this report: (1) funds of funds are excluded fromthe data to avoid double counting, (2) mutual funds available as investment choices in variable annuities are excluded, and(3) dollars and percentages may not add to the totals presented because of rounding.This material is intended to provide general information on fees paid by participants in a wide variety of plans to provideinsight into average fees across the marketplace. The fees of a particular plan will depend on factors specific to the plan,such as the exact investment options the plan offers and whether administrative and recordkeeping fees are included inthe expense ratios or charged outside of them. Consequently, this material is not intended for benchmarking the costs ofspecific plans to the broad averages presented here.2Why Employers Offer 401(k) Plans3Paying for 401(k) Plan Services7Fees and Expenses of Mutual Funds Held in401(k) AccountsWhy Employers Offer 401(k) PlansAn attractive workplace benefit, 401(k) plans give workersthe ability to defer income tax on the portion of theircompensation that is set aside for retirement. Offeringflexibility, 401(k) plans allow employees to make electivedeferrals and typically provide a choice of investments.Indeed, they have become the most common definedcontribution (DC) plan in the United States, holding$8.9 trillion in assets at year‑end 2024 (Figure 1).1Mutualfunds are the primary vehicle for 401(k) plan investments,with 62 percent of employer‑sponsored 401(k) plan assetsheld in mutual funds at year‑end 2024. 2 ICI RESEARCH PERSPECTIVE, VOL. 31, NO. 5//JULY 20258Trends in 401(k) Plans’ Mutual Fund Expenses13Conclusion14Notes20ReferencesEmployers that offer 401(k) plans, an optionalemployee benefit, face conflicting economic pressures:the need to attract and retain qualified workers withcompetitive compensation packages and the need to keeptheir products and services competitively priced. As afirm increases overall compensation for its employees,it increases its ability to hire and retain workers but alsoincreases the costs of producing its products and services.To establish and maintain 401(k) plans, employers mustobtain a variety of administrative, participant‑focused,regulatory, and compliance services. All of these servicesinvolve costs; generally, the plan sponsor and the planparticipants share these costs. 2 ICI RESEARCH PERSPECTIVE, VOL. 31, NO. 5//JULY 2025FIGURE 1401(k) Plan AssetsBillions of dollars, year-end,Other investmentsMutu fundsNote: Data include mutual funds available as investment choices in variable annuities and mutual funds that invest primarily in other funds.Sources: Investment Company Institute, Federal Reserve Board, and US Department of Labor; see Investment Company Institute 2025bPaying for 401(k) Plan Services401(k) Plan Services Are Strictly Regulated401(k) plans are complex to maintain and administer,and they are subject to an array of rules and regulationsthat govern all qualified tax‑deferred employee benefitplans, including Section 401(a) of the Internal RevenueCode (IRC), which stipulates the requirements that employeebenefit plans must meet to qualify for the deferral of federalincome tax.3The Department of the Treasury and InternalRevenue Service (IRS) have issued numerous regulationsto implement these tax code provisions and enforcethe requirements that plans must satisfy to qualify forfavorable tax treatment.4Further, the plans must meet manystatutory and regulatory requirements under the EmployeeRetirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which isoverseen by the Department of Labor (DOL). ,,, 401(k) Plan Sponsors Provide a Varietyof ServicesWhen an employer offers a 401(k) plan to its employees,it selects an individual or group of individuals, known asplan fiduciaries,6to oversee the administration of the 401(k)plan for the exclusive benefit of plan participants andbeneficiaries, consistent with ERISA and the terms of theplan. The plan fiduciaries must arrange for the provisionof the many services required to establish and maintain a401(k) plan.Administrative servicesmaintain the framework of a401(k) plan and include recordkeeping functions, such asmaintaining plan and partici