In a report that examines U.S. companies' 401(k) offerings, BrightScope ranked the strongest retirement plans for employees in industrial sectors nationwide, ThinkAdvisor focused on the 14 best of that group. Rankings were for plans containing more than $100 million in assets.
"The range of industries topping this list shows that employers of all types are taking necessary steps to set up employees for a secure retirement by providing a robust 401(k) plan," said Brooks Herman, head of data and research for BrightScope, a financial information company that analyzes retirement plans and financial advisors, in a statement. "We hope companies across the country are now inspired to evaluate the options available to workers and make positive changes that have the potential to make a huge impact to employees' financial future over time."
BrightScope has rated nearly 50,000 401(k) and 403(b) plans, spanning more than 57 million workers and more than $3 trillion in assets. The company gets its data directly from plan sponsors and recordkeepers, as well as from publicly available sources such as the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
(Read BrightScope Defends a Business Model Modeled After Morningstar at ThinkAdvisor.)
The rankings that follow, in reverse order from lowest to highest, include the industry name, number of plans evaluated and rating out of a possible 100 points.
The BrightScope rating algorithm calculates a single numerical value for each 401(k) plan by analyzing more than 200 individual data points that cover broad categories such as total plan cost, company generosity and investment menu quality.
14. Health & Medicine – 238 plans – 66.98
13. Arts & Entertainment – 22 plans – 67.68
12. Management of Companies and Enterprises – 125 plans – 68.51
11. Information – 73 plans – 69.17
10. Wholesale Trade – 143 plans – 69.26
