Author Topic: Compare your 401(k) balance to company average (Read 16137 times)

birdman2003 · « **on:** August 21, 2015, 04:22:39 AM »

I found a link to http://www.brightscope.com/ in an older forum thread.

I searched for my company and found that the average 401(k) account balance is $150,000 (scroll down half of the page to the Retirement Plan Details section).

Three things:

1. At a 4% withdrawal rate, that is only $6000 a year. Ouch.
2. My account balance is $140,000 after 7 years (2008 - 2015). Yes, I was lucky and got some great growth years in there, but I never maxed out my 401(k) contributions until this year.
3. 140/150 means I am at 93% of the average account balance.

I am curious if some mustachians on here are (proudly) inflating the average with their crazy high balances.

Paul der Krake · « **Reply #1 on:** August 21, 2015, 04:47:19 AM »

Great tool, thanks for sharing. My wife's old company average participant only has an average of $24,000 in it, she left the company after two years with $25,000 in hers. Pathetic.

SwordGuy · « **Reply #2 on:** August 21, 2015, 04:51:53 AM »

It's a fairly useless statistic given how frequently people change jobs.

Suncoast · « **Reply #3 on:** August 21, 2015, 06:02:45 AM »

Agree, that is not that reflective of overall retirement savings. Most people that change jobs frequently roll their 401k into an IRA once they leave an employer.

Moostache · « **Reply #4 on:** August 21, 2015, 06:27:14 AM »

Good point. I was wondering why a previous employers plan had an average so low when they have done so stupidly well but this easily explains it. Well that or participation is stupidly low....

Quote from: SwordGuy on August 21, 2015, 04:51:53 AM

It's a fairly useless statistic given how frequently people change jobs.

rockstache · « **Reply #5 on:** August 21, 2015, 07:27:15 AM »

Our account balance is $61,000. But no one ever leaves our company.

I'm a red panda · « **Reply #6 on:** August 21, 2015, 07:36:06 AM »

The average account balance for my company is $100k. I'm WAY, WAY below that for this company's retirement account. (But like people said- that doesn't really compare savings due to multiple jobs.)

Of course, I've only worked here for a year, and they contribute 13% with employees contributing 2%; so even if people don't put in anything more than they are mandated to do, the accounts are going to grow fairly well.

Mississippi Mudstache · « **Reply #7 on:** August 21, 2015, 07:45:13 AM »

Damn. My company's average balance is $200,000. I'm impressed. I'm bringing down the average with only $15,000. Of course, I've only been here 10 months. What's less impressive is the investments that my co-workers have chosen:

33%: Company stock (which is down 30%+ over the last year)
25%: Guaranteed interest account
12%: S&P 500 Index

Yikes. To think that my co-workers have amassed this much money with such bad investments - I have mixed feelings. Our company stock has trailed the S&P500 for decades. Why on earth would you invest a third of your retirement in that?

Cromacster · « **Reply #8 on:** August 21, 2015, 07:55:20 AM »

According to this site the average employee balance is 130,000, which is better than I expected.

What concerns me is the top holding is company common stock at 49%, the next highest Fidelity Contrafund at 10%.

I'll just edit to add the contrafund isn't the worst fund we have available, but we do have access to a few spartan funds, one of which is essentially the same as the contrafund.

Also, Isn't this borderline ilegal? I thought I read somewhere that company can't have more than 50 or 51% company stock in a 401k. Granted 49% is under 50% but damn close.

I'm a red panda · « **Reply #9 on:** August 21, 2015, 07:57:33 AM »

The highest holding in my company (25%) is TIAA Traditional, which is their guaranteed income. Except it guarantees between 1% and 3%. I mean, I guess it's nice to know it is going to grow; but it's gonna grow slower than one should expect inflation to...

Pooperman · « **Reply #10 on:** August 21, 2015, 08:06:55 AM »

I've only got under $1k in my 401k... this is because I started 2 months ago and am rebuilding my emergency fund. Also, I had $8k in my last 401k after about a year. Finally, the average balance is $19k which is pathetic.

Mississippi Mudstache · « **Reply #11 on:** August 21, 2015, 08:21:57 AM »

Quote from: Pooperman on August 21, 2015, 08:06:55 AM

Finally, the average balance is $19k which is pathetic.

Dang. That is pathetic. Young company?

Pooperman · « **Reply #12 on:** August 21, 2015, 08:25:19 AM »

Quote from: Mississippi Mudstache on August 21, 2015, 08:21:57 AM

Quote from: Pooperman on August 21, 2015, 08:06:55 AM
Finally, the average balance is $19k which is pathetic.

Dang. That is pathetic. Young company?

Not so much young (it's been around for about 20 years) as the 401k being a newish thing.

RWD · « **Reply #13 on:** August 21, 2015, 08:34:16 AM »

My company has an average of $70k, 41% of which is in our company stock. We can't invest our own contributions in the company stock, our company distributes the stock among the employees automatically. The longer you've been with the company the more stock you'll have accumulated. I think my 401k is around 5% company stock after 7 years.

The only explanation I can come up with is that the old employees have a ton of company stock and have hardly used their 401k otherwise...

jorjor · « **Reply #14 on:** August 21, 2015, 08:36:06 AM »

Avg Account Balance: $280,000

Largest funds:
Vanguard Institutional Index (22%)
Vanguard Extended Market Index (17%)
Union Bond & Trust Stable Value Fund (13%)

Mine is much lower, but I've only been here for two years.

Rosy · « **Reply #15 on:** August 21, 2015, 08:56:03 AM »

Wow - I had no idea one could even search such a thing:)

Average account balance $210,000 - he is above average.

FuturePrimitive · « **Reply #16 on:** August 21, 2015, 09:06:52 AM »

$110,000 with 3200 participants. I would have expected a higher average balance. While technically we are a "new" company started in 2007, in actuality we were spun off from a large 100+ year old company. I'm assuming people rolled over their existing 401ks into the new 401k like I did. Which was essentially the same plan with the same management company. There has been a lot of turnover though so that probably has a lot to do with it.

I'm a red panda · « **Reply #17 on:** August 21, 2015, 09:14:05 AM »

Quote from: FuturePrimitive on August 21, 2015, 09:06:52 AM

I'm assuming people rolled over their existing 401ks into the new 401k like I did.

If that took more than thinking about it, I don't think it's a safe assumption :)
People are really really lazy.

Easye418 · « **Reply #18 on:** August 21, 2015, 09:15:40 AM »

Dear god....

Only 90 Participants, average holding $54,000.

I worked for a pretty old company with VERY long term employees. I would have to assume we have 250 to 500 employees.

Amazing how almost no one is participating.

My old company has 9,100 participants. average holding $170,000. They had an awesome retirement plan. 6% matching and they dumped 5% of your salary into a retirement account every year. I wish I still worked there, but it wouldn't of worked :(

Zaga · « **Reply #19 on:** August 21, 2015, 09:21:10 AM »

What are "Total Asset Backed Securities"? That's listed as the largest holding in my husband's 401-K, but it's not one of the choices that I can see to invest in. I assume it has something to do with the brokerage option, which seems like a silly thing to pay for when there are 2 perfectly good index funds!

Second largest holding is S&P 500 and third is American Funds Europacific Growth Fund.

The average balance is $140K with over 9,000 participants, but DH's is much smaller since he just started a few months ago.

Roboturner · « **Reply #20 on:** August 21, 2015, 09:22:26 AM »

Are the averages normalized to a baseline? say 10 years or something? That would actually make the statistic useful

jorjor · « **Reply #21 on:** August 21, 2015, 09:32:01 AM »

Quote from: Roboturner on August 21, 2015, 09:22:26 AM

Are the averages normalized to a baseline? say 10 years or something? That would actually make the statistic useful

I'm sure that they just take Form 5500 data and say Average Account Balance = Fund Assets / # participants

Paul der Krake · « **Reply #22 on:** August 21, 2015, 09:46:48 AM »

The metrics are nowhere near perfect, but it does give a rough idea of what's going on. It would be interesting to know how many people elect to rollover their previous 401(k)s into their current employer's plan.

Jesstache · « **Reply #23 on:** August 21, 2015, 09:47:42 AM »

Oh man, my husband's company's total plan assets are $88k, average of $2400 per participant. It's even worse when you realize my husband holds about $30k of that. His contributions have been capped because it fails the means test and he's a HCE. To be fair though, the compnay is only 3 years old and 401k was implemented a little over 2 years ago, at my husband's insistence...

Roboturner · « **Reply #24 on:** August 21, 2015, 09:49:55 AM »

Quote from: jorjor on August 21, 2015, 09:32:01 AM

Quote from: Roboturner on August 21, 2015, 09:22:26 AM
Are the averages normalized to a baseline? say 10 years or something? That would actually make the statistic useful

I'm sure that they just take Form 5500 data and say Average Account Balance = Fund Assets / # participants

Good point, I actually got sucked into the "Peer Group Ratings" Super neat find OP!

Slee_stack · « **Reply #25 on:** August 21, 2015, 09:55:58 AM »

Quote from: rockstache on August 21, 2015, 07:27:15 AM

Our account balance is $61,000. But no one ever leaves our company.

Do you work at the Hotel California?

Paul der Krake · « **Reply #26 on:** August 21, 2015, 10:02:39 AM »

New life goal: start corporation, only hire Mustachians, rise to the very top of the list in employee participation and assets, go on CNBC as a retirement crisis expert, and troll the pants off the rest of the workforce.

TheInsuranceMan · « **Reply #27 on:** August 21, 2015, 10:18:32 AM »

My old company:
48k participants
$99,000 average account balance
$4.6b in Net Plan Assets

My new employer, which automatically puts 3% into everyone's 401k a month, regardless if they contribute or not has..
43 participants
$75k average account balance.
Now, that sticks out at me. We're a small business, large in assets, small in employees, but I can think of 5-10 people who have worked there for 20+ years. Some are new, and we have some new locations that have newer employees that have been with us less than 10 years, but still.

ysette9 · « **Reply #28 on:** August 21, 2015, 10:24:16 AM »

Average account balance for my company is $220k. We are one of those big, old defense contractors where most people come to stay for their entire career.

tvan · « **Reply #29 on:** August 21, 2015, 10:25:07 AM »

My comp:

Ave balance 220k
Participants 3900
Largest Fund: Vanguard Inst. Index

150 year old company

I'm a red panda · « **Reply #30 on:** August 21, 2015, 10:36:19 AM »

Quote from: TheInsuranceMan on August 21, 2015, 10:18:32 AM

My new employer, which automatically puts 3% into everyone's 401k a month, regardless if they contribute or not has..
43 participants
$75k average account balance.
Now, that sticks out at me. We're a small business, large in assets, small in employees, but I can think of 5-10 people who have worked there for 20+ years. Some are new, and we have some new locations that have newer employees that have been with us less than 10 years, but still.

Are there more than 43 employees at your company?

I was a little confused - because my company has requires participation. But the website said our participation rate was under 50%.

jorjor · « **Reply #31 on:** August 21, 2015, 10:47:55 AM »

The calculations are using Form 5500 data from the 2013 plan year (at least for both my current and past employers). If there have been major changes in hiring/tenure since 2013, it wouldn't be reflected here.

fattest_foot · « **Reply #32 on:** August 21, 2015, 12:13:13 PM »

Quote from: FuturePrimitive on August 21, 2015, 09:06:52 AM

I would have expected a higher average balance.

Strange, because seeing these average balances in the six figures is what is surprising to me. From what I've seen/read, most people "can't afford" to even get the full employer match. Contributing 1-2% and somehow still ending up with an average that high is a bit shocking.

Trudie · « **Reply #33 on:** August 21, 2015, 02:25:19 PM »

$120,000 is our average balance. Yikes!

I do have to say, this only tells a partial picture though. My husband and I together have about $1M in retirement assets, it's just that it's in different vehicles (IRAs, Roths, his 403B).

Mississippi Mudstache · « **Reply #34 on:** August 21, 2015, 02:46:05 PM »

Quote from: fattest_foot on August 21, 2015, 12:13:13 PM

Quote from: FuturePrimitive on August 21, 2015, 09:06:52 AM
I would have expected a higher average balance.

Strange, because seeing these average balances in the six figures is what is surprising to me. From what I've seen/read, most people "can't afford" to even get the full employer match. Contributing 1-2% and somehow still ending up with an average that high is a bit shocking.

I'm guessing most people who contribute a healthy amount just don't say anything about it. I know I don't.

mm1970 · « **Reply #35 on:** August 21, 2015, 02:52:36 PM »

Interesting

Average balance is $44,000
120 people

Our company is only 8 years old, so that balance is not surprising.

I don't remember my exact 401k balance (been here 7 years), but it's safe to say that while I am 1 employee out of 120, about 6% of the total is mine.

(not everyone participates but I'm sure that 120 people includes people who have left also)

My 4% would only be about $5000, but note that every time I leave a company, I roll it into an IRA.

mm1970 · « **Reply #36 on:** August 21, 2015, 02:56:23 PM »

My spouse's company, however, is super generous in putting money into the 401k.

130 participants
Avg >$300,000

tallen · « **Reply #37 on:** August 21, 2015, 03:04:29 PM »

24k average, 39 participants, Less than 1mil. total plan funds. Pitiful, especially since there are 2 guys at full retirement age, one postponed for "one more year" for the extra 8% from social security and the other one has been drawing social security while still working probably for a few years now (he's 69). Each of them has been with company for over 30 years and should have more than the total plan funds just between themselves!

TheInsuranceMan · « **Reply #38 on:** August 21, 2015, 03:08:41 PM »

Quote from: iowajes on August 21, 2015, 10:36:19 AM

Quote from: TheInsuranceMan on August 21, 2015, 10:18:32 AM
My new employer, which automatically puts 3% into everyone's 401k a month, regardless if they contribute or not has..
43 participants
$75k average account balance.
Now, that sticks out at me. We're a small business, large in assets, small in employees, but I can think of 5-10 people who have worked there for 20+ years. Some are new, and we have some new locations that have newer employees that have been with us less than 10 years, but still.
Are there more than 43 employees at your company?

I was a little confused - because my company has requires participation. But the website said our participation rate was under 50%.

43 sounds light, but I think it might be right. We have 3 locations, I know how many people work in 2 of the locations, and unsure on the third...off hand.

big_slacker · « **Reply #39 on:** August 21, 2015, 04:23:14 PM »

So sad to look at my employer. They're fairly generous (6% match, fast vesting, etc.) compared to a lot of companies these days. Given this I'm shocked to see the participation rate is low, people are throwing away free money. :(

Lyngi · « **Reply #40 on:** August 21, 2015, 04:37:29 PM »

My employer plan shows an average value of $39000. I'm not really surprised. I am pleased that the fees for my plan are listed as low. My balance was 400K, but I've been there awhile and contributed the max most of the time. Not the whole time, though. Stupid younger me.

Bumbling Bee · « **Reply #41 on:** August 21, 2015, 04:51:53 PM »

Quote from: Mississippi Mudstache on August 21, 2015, 07:45:13 AM

Damn. My company's average balance is $200,000. I'm impressed. I'm bringing down the average with only $15,000. Of course, I've only been here 10 months. What's less impressive is the investments that my co-workers have chosen:

33%: Company stock (which is down 30%+ over the last year)
25%: Guaranteed interest account
12%: S&P 500 Index

Yikes. To think that my co-workers have amassed this much money with such bad investments - I have mixed feelings. Our company stock has trailed the S&P500 for decades. Why on earth would you invest a third of your retirement in that?

Well, even if it didn't, people already have a large long exposure to their company. It's called their job. Think of those poor Enron employees who lost their jobs and had all of their retirement savings in Enron stock.

birdman2003 · « **Reply #42 on:** August 21, 2015, 08:29:43 PM »

Quote from: tvan on August 21, 2015, 10:25:07 AM

My comp:

Ave balance 220k
Participants 3900
Largest Fund: Vanguard Inst. Index

150 year old company

That is a super high average for less than 4000 participants! Must be a good company.

Zamboni · « **Reply #43 on:** August 21, 2015, 08:57:09 PM »

Very interesting link. My company got good ratings for low fees and great company generosity, but low participation rates.

At a place where turnover is relatively low, average balance is $120,000. Highest holding by individuals in the plan is a TIAA-CREF annuity at over 10% (weird choice as far as I am concerned, but still much better than those places where the highest holdings are in company stock.)

But I'm not sure how long the plan has been around. Just over 1% of participants are actively collecting from that plan in retirement now. And this is an old employer with a ton of retirees, which means most of them retired on a pension instead. The pension option is long gone now for active employees.

mastrr · « **Reply #44 on:** August 21, 2015, 09:08:27 PM »

50,000 participants, $75k is average balance, over 60% common stock. After reading this forum I sold all my company stock and put it all in index funds.

tvan · « **Reply #45 on:** August 21, 2015, 11:45:23 PM »

Quote from: birdman2003 on August 21, 2015, 08:29:43 PM

Quote from: tvan on August 21, 2015, 10:25:07 AM
My comp:

Ave balance 220k
Participants 3900
Largest Fund: Vanguard Inst. Index

150 year old company

That is a super high average for less than 4000 participants! Must be a good company.

It's very good and I'm lucky to love my job there. Thankfully we are not publicly traded.

BDWW · « **Reply #46 on:** August 22, 2015, 02:17:03 AM »

Net Plan Assets    $4,890,000
Total Participants    32
Avg Account Balance    $170,000

Old company, and many lifers, I would've assumed I was up there, but not even average.

makincaid · « **Reply #47 on:** August 22, 2015, 07:51:31 AM »

The average at my company is $180000!

We have a lot of 50+ guys, many of whom have been with the company 20years or more.

RunHappy · « **Reply #48 on:** August 22, 2015, 08:02:37 AM »

My company's average is $51k with 220 employees participating. The company is just over 10 years and we have less than 300 employees total. Over the last 1.5 years I think we added about 100 employees. So that isn't too bad.

oinkette · « **Reply #49 on:** August 22, 2015, 02:41:26 PM »

Mine is $150K as well. But considering the average age of the employees (older, we basically have one die every year of old age), a bit concerning...especially since our employer is so generous with contributions. Of course, it now makes sense why so many people did not choose to take recent retirement packages.

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Author Topic: Compare your 401(k) balance to company average (Read 16137 times)