These 5 Industries Offer the Best 401(k) Plans

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Attorneys and their industry colleagues continue to have it best when it comes to 401(k) plans.

For the third consecutive year, financial information company BrightScope has ranked law the No.1 industry for its 401(k) plans. Law and four other industries make up the same top five for the third consecutive year. They are:

  1. Law
  2. Utilities
  3. Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
  4. Airlines
  5. Technology

BrightScope’s ratings reflect more than 200 factors in categories such as total plan cost, company generosity and investment menu quality.

BrightScope’s head of data and research, Brooks Herman, states in a BrightScope news release:

“Consistently increasing ratings and plan size shows that companies within the top industries on the list work hard year-after-year to improve the quality of 401(k) plans.”

BrightScope rates each industry’s 401(k) plans based on data obtained directly from plan sponsors and record-keepers, as well as third parties like the U.S. Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Herman tells CNN Money:

“Basically, we look at how long it takes workers to get to their retirement-ready goal line.”

This year, scores range from 83.49 for law firms to 56.24 for the hotels, casinos and food services industry.

The 10 highest-ranked industries this year are:

  1. Law
  2. Utilities
  3. Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
  4. Airlines
  5. Technology
  6. Professional, scientific and technical services
  7. Business and finance
  8. Manufacturing
  9. Management of companies and enterprises
  10. Information

To view the full list of 23 ranked industries with their scores, click on the BrightScope link above.

To learn more about 401(k)s, check out “Confused by IRAs and 401(k)’s? Roth and Regular Accounts Made Simple” and “Why You’re Stressed About Your 401(k) — and How to Get Over It.”

Do you like your company’s 401(k) plan? Share your thoughts in our Forums. It’s the place where you can speak your mind, explore topics in-depth, and post questions and get answers.

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