Top 10 industries with the best-performing 401(k) plans

1. CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

Median Account Balance: $145,838
Median Employee Contributions: $8,619
Median Employer Contributions: $3,099

THE REPORT SAYS: "CPAs enjoyed almost a $6,000 bump in median account balance, while participant contributions rose 17% year over year to $8,750. Nearly 54% of all CPA firms had 1-10 employees, behind only dentists, financial advisors, and lawyers in this metric. Unsurprisingly, all four of those industry sectors rank in our top 5, along with physicians."

(Photo: Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash)

10. BANKING

Median Account Balance: $85,561
Median Employee Contributions: $4,145
Median Employer Contributions: $2,593

THE REPORT SAYS: "The banks that we profiled had an awful lot going for them in 2021, starting with a 10% increase in median account balance year over year,from about $78K to $85K. We don't often see increases that big, because even as markets rise, new workers continue to join the labormarket and begin their careers with no or low account balances. ... Banks continue to enjoy one of the highest employee retention/longevity rates in our study, at 12.5 years on average. This certainly providestheir employees with ample opportunity to grow their account balances."

(Photo: Birdland/Adobe Stock)

9. CONSULTANTS

Median Account Balance: $59,513
Median Employee Contributions: $6,580
Median Employer Contributions: $2,248

THE REPORT SAYS: "[O]ur Longevity metric is based in part on the ratio of Employee/Employer Contributions to the Average Account Balance (i.e. how long would someone have to work there to achieve that average account balance). The low (for a white collar, professional industry) account balance of $59,513 is at odds with the high Employee and Employer contributions and high rate of return. This suggests that there is a lot of turnover in this industry, likely among younger workers who don't stick around long enough to turn those big contributions into a big account balance. A different interpretation of the same data could be that lots of consulting firms spring up and simply don't last very long."

(Photo: Scott Graham / Unsplash)

8. INSURANCE PROVIDERS & BROKERS

Median Account Balance: $94,366
Median Employee Contributions: $5,848
Median Employer Contributions: $2,283

THE REPORT SAYS: "Insurance Providers and Brokers have that great combination of good Employee Longevity and good Employee/Employer Contributions. Those two items are the most important for achieving a successful retirement outcome, as they give the assets time to accumulate and grow. In this most recent set of data we do see that Employee Contributions are only growing at about 0.5%, which is less than the roughly 2% growth that we've seen in our other top-tier industries. Employer contributions are in fact down over the previous year by a little more than 1%. These are two trends that we will be keeping a sharp eye on in future reports."

(Photo: nenetus/Adobe Stock)

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7. FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE SERVICES (ALL OTHER)

Median Account Balance: $85,597
Median Employee Contributions: $7,677
Median Employer Contributions: $2,626

THE REPORT SAYS: "Given the structure of the industry classification system, we were able to carve out Financial Advice/Investment Activities, Insurance Providers/Brokers, and Bankers into their own discrete categories. What's left is everything from credit consolidation to payroll processing, a true hodgepodge of financial services firms. Year over year, employee contributions per participant grew by 13%, while employer contributions grew by 15.3% and account balances remained flat."

(Photo: Skylines/Shutterstock.com)

6. ENGINEERS

Median Account Balance: $102,128
Median Employee Contributions: $6,758
Median Employer Contributions: $2,654

THE REPORT SAYS: "There is a pattern in the size groupings for engineers that seems to repeat each year. The median account balances remain in a fairly small range all the way from 1-500 participants, and then rise sharply in the 500+ range topping out at almost $173,000 for the 5,000+ person firms. Although we see employee longevity at those biggest firms top out at 12.2 years, giving plan participants plenty of time to grow their balances, it's only about 20% more time than the industry average of 10.8 years. That extra 20% shouldn't correlate into 72% more dollars on its own. It is likely that profit-sharing mechanisms account for this difference."

(Photo: ThisisEngineering RAEng)

5. DENTISTS

Median Account Balance: $107,568
Median Employee Contributions: $5,752
Median Employer Contributions: $2,775

THE REPORT SAYS: "Once again, dentists are both the most bottom-heavy and the top-light group in our survey. 59% of all companies in this sector have fewer than 11 employees, and only five companies have more than 5,000. As a result of this disparity (and the relatively lucrative nature of small dental practices), the average account balance for the micro-companies is $122,782, about three times larger than the $40,141 account balance for the largest companies in the space. To be fair, those few mega companies have a lot of dental franchisees that require the kind of back-office support personnel who are NOT making 'dentist money.' "

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4. PHYSICIANS

Median Account Balance: $134,633
Median Employee Contributions: $5,878
Median Employer Contributions: $3,748

THE REPORT SAYS: "Year over year, account balances are up by $6,604, or 5%, while employee and employer contribution rates are both up approximately 24%. The median participation rate of 100% tells us that more than half of all Physician plans have full plan participation, a feat shared by several other professional occupations like CPAs, Dentists, Financial Advisors, and Lawyers."

(Photo: Lordn/Shutterstock)

3. LAWYERS AND LEGAL SERVICES

Median Account Balance: $143,448
Median Employee Contributions: $7,584
Median Employer Contributions: $3,323

THE REPORT SAYS: "The year over year metrics for Lawyers and Legal Services are compelling. Account balances rose by almost $7,500 (about 5.5%) while employee contributions rose by 23% to $7,965. Employer contributions rose 18%, to $3,949, which is good enough for 3rd place behind only Financial Advisors and Physicians. It is worth noting here that 401(k) plans are not the only way that these firms provide retirement options for their employees. A significant number of plan sponsors in this industry grouping (3,494 or 11%) also maintain a traditional defined benefit plan, usually accessible only to partners. Those plans hold a collective $24 billion in assets, which when added to the $264 billion in their 401(k) plans gives this industry a very big nest egg indeed."

(Photo: Sittipol/Adobe Stock)

2. FINANCIAL ADVICE/INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES

Median Account Balance: $132,470
Median Employee Contributions: $11,129
Median Employer Contributions: $5,010

THE REPORT SAYS: "This group is notable for its extremely high employee and employer contributions, coming in 25% higher than the number two finisher in both areas. For both metrics, Financial Advisors saw year over year increases of more than 10%. Given that the average pay for someone in this space is likely to be substantially more than most of our other industry groups, these higher figures make sense. Additionally, since most employer dollars contributed to a plan are structured as matches to the employee contributions there is a strong correlation between those two data points."

(Photo: tippapatt/Adobe Stock)

1. CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

Median Account Balance: $145,838
Median Employee Contributions: $8,619
Median Employer Contributions: $3,099

THE REPORT SAYS: "CPAs enjoyed almost a $6,000 bump in median account balance, while participant contributions rose 17% year over year to $8,750. Nearly 54% of all CPA firms had 1-10 employees, behind only dentists, financial advisors, and lawyers in this metric. Unsurprisingly, all four of those industry sectors rank in our top 5, along with physicians."

(Photo: Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash)

10. BANKING

Median Account Balance: $85,561
Median Employee Contributions: $4,145
Median Employer Contributions: $2,593

THE REPORT SAYS: "The banks that we profiled had an awful lot going for them in 2021, starting with a 10% increase in median account balance year over year,from about $78K to $85K. We don't often see increases that big, because even as markets rise, new workers continue to join the labormarket and begin their careers with no or low account balances. ... Banks continue to enjoy one of the highest employee retention/longevity rates in our study, at 12.5 years on average. This certainly providestheir employees with ample opportunity to grow their account balances."

(Photo: Birdland/Adobe Stock)

9. CONSULTANTS

Median Account Balance: $59,513
Median Employee Contributions: $6,580
Median Employer Contributions: $2,248

THE REPORT SAYS: "[O]ur Longevity metric is based in part on the ratio of Employee/Employer Contributions to the Average Account Balance (i.e. how long would someone have to work there to achieve that average account balance). The low (for a white collar, professional industry) account balance of $59,513 is at odds with the high Employee and Employer contributions and high rate of return. This suggests that there is a lot of turnover in this industry, likely among younger workers who don't stick around long enough to turn those big contributions into a big account balance. A different interpretation of the same data could be that lots of consulting firms spring up and simply don't last very long."

(Photo: Scott Graham / Unsplash)

8. INSURANCE PROVIDERS & BROKERS

Median Account Balance: $94,366
Median Employee Contributions: $5,848
Median Employer Contributions: $2,283

THE REPORT SAYS: "Insurance Providers and Brokers have that great combination of good Employee Longevity and good Employee/Employer Contributions. Those two items are the most important for achieving a successful retirement outcome, as they give the assets time to accumulate and grow. In this most recent set of data we do see that Employee Contributions are only growing at about 0.5%, which is less than the roughly 2% growth that we've seen in our other top-tier industries. Employer contributions are in fact down over the previous year by a little more than 1%. These are two trends that we will be keeping a sharp eye on in future reports."

(Photo: nenetus/Adobe Stock)

7. FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE SERVICES (ALL OTHER)

Median Account Balance: $85,597
Median Employee Contributions: $7,677
Median Employer Contributions: $2,626

THE REPORT SAYS: "Given the structure of the industry classification system, we were able to carve out Financial Advice/Investment Activities, Insurance Providers/Brokers, and Bankers into their own discrete categories. What's left is everything from credit consolidation to payroll processing, a true hodgepodge of financial services firms. Year over year, employee contributions per participant grew by 13%, while employer contributions grew by 15.3% and account balances remained flat."

(Photo: Skylines/Shutterstock.com)

6. ENGINEERS

Median Account Balance: $102,128
Median Employee Contributions: $6,758
Median Employer Contributions: $2,654

THE REPORT SAYS: "There is a pattern in the size groupings for engineers that seems to repeat each year. The median account balances remain in a fairly small range all the way from 1-500 participants, and then rise sharply in the 500+ range topping out at almost $173,000 for the 5,000+ person firms. Although we see employee longevity at those biggest firms top out at 12.2 years, giving plan participants plenty of time to grow their balances, it's only about 20% more time than the industry average of 10.8 years. That extra 20% shouldn't correlate into 72% more dollars on its own. It is likely that profit-sharing mechanisms account for this difference."

(Photo: ThisisEngineering RAEng)

5. DENTISTS

Median Account Balance: $107,568
Median Employee Contributions: $5,752
Median Employer Contributions: $2,775

THE REPORT SAYS: "Once again, dentists are both the most bottom-heavy and the top-light group in our survey. 59% of all companies in this sector have fewer than 11 employees, and only five companies have more than 5,000. As a result of this disparity (and the relatively lucrative nature of small dental practices), the average account balance for the micro-companies is $122,782, about three times larger than the $40,141 account balance for the largest companies in the space. To be fair, those few mega companies have a lot of dental franchisees that require the kind of back-office support personnel who are NOT making 'dentist money.' "

4. PHYSICIANS

Median Account Balance: $134,633
Median Employee Contributions: $5,878
Median Employer Contributions: $3,748

THE REPORT SAYS: "Year over year, account balances are up by $6,604, or 5%, while employee and employer contribution rates are both up approximately 24%. The median participation rate of 100% tells us that more than half of all Physician plans have full plan participation, a feat shared by several other professional occupations like CPAs, Dentists, Financial Advisors, and Lawyers."

(Photo: Lordn/Shutterstock)

3. LAWYERS AND LEGAL SERVICES

Median Account Balance: $143,448
Median Employee Contributions: $7,584
Median Employer Contributions: $3,323

THE REPORT SAYS: "The year over year metrics for Lawyers and Legal Services are compelling. Account balances rose by almost $7,500 (about 5.5%) while employee contributions rose by 23% to $7,965. Employer contributions rose 18%, to $3,949, which is good enough for 3rd place behind only Financial Advisors and Physicians. It is worth noting here that 401(k) plans are not the only way that these firms provide retirement options for their employees. A significant number of plan sponsors in this industry grouping (3,494 or 11%) also maintain a traditional defined benefit plan, usually accessible only to partners. Those plans hold a collective $24 billion in assets, which when added to the $264 billion in their 401(k) plans gives this industry a very big nest egg indeed."

(Photo: Sittipol/Adobe Stock)

2. FINANCIAL ADVICE/INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES

Median Account Balance: $132,470
Median Employee Contributions: $11,129
Median Employer Contributions: $5,010

THE REPORT SAYS: "This group is notable for its extremely high employee and employer contributions, coming in 25% higher than the number two finisher in both areas. For both metrics, Financial Advisors saw year over year increases of more than 10%. Given that the average pay for someone in this space is likely to be substantially more than most of our other industry groups, these higher figures make sense. Additionally, since most employer dollars contributed to a plan are structured as matches to the employee contributions there is a strong correlation between those two data points."

(Photo: tippapatt/Adobe Stock)

1. CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

Median Account Balance: $145,838
Median Employee Contributions: $8,619
Median Employer Contributions: $3,099

THE REPORT SAYS: "CPAs enjoyed almost a $6,000 bump in median account balance, while participant contributions rose 17% year over year to $8,750. Nearly 54% of all CPA firms had 1-10 employees, behind only dentists, financial advisors, and lawyers in this metric. Unsurprisingly, all four of those industry sectors rank in our top 5, along with physicians."

(Photo: Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash)

Instant Insights /

Top 10 industries with the best-performing 401(k) plans

1. CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

10. BANKING

9. CONSULTANTS

8. INSURANCE PROVIDERS & BROKERS

7. FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE SERVICES (ALL OTHER)

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6. ENGINEERS

5. DENTISTS

4. PHYSICIANS

3. LAWYERS AND LEGAL SERVICES

2. FINANCIAL ADVICE/INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES

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1. CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

10. BANKING

9. CONSULTANTS

8. INSURANCE PROVIDERS & BROKERS

7. FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE SERVICES (ALL OTHER)

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6. ENGINEERS

5. DENTISTS

4. PHYSICIANS

3. LAWYERS AND LEGAL SERVICES

2. FINANCIAL ADVICE/INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES

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1. CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

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Top 10 industries with the best-performing 401(k) plans

10. BANKING

Related: 8 top-rated retirement systems around the globe (& what US plans could do better)

Richard Binder

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