Sources
Follow every figure back to its source.
401(k) Plan Report uses public government filings for history and reviewed plan documents for current terms. The two are never treated as interchangeable.
Department of Labor Form 5500
Our historical records combine the main Form 5500 with Schedules H and R, the insurance information in Schedule A, service-provider compensation in Schedule C, pooled-investment relationships in Schedule D, and filing events reported on Schedule G. Supporting schedules add context; they do not automatically raise or lower a plan’s comparison score.
Browse the DOL datasets ↗
Look up a filing in EFAST2 ↗
Company filings
SEC Form 11-K is the strongest centralized company source we have for plan financial statements and selected plan rules. Form 10-K and proxy filings can add context. Candidate passages remain clearly marked until a person verifies what they mean and which employees they cover.
Current plan documents
For current terms, we may use a Summary Plan Description, Summary of Material Modifications, participant fee disclosure, investment comparison chart, or employer enrollment guide. Each published term includes the document date and review status.
Industry context
Bureau of Labor Statistics employment and wage data may be used for broad industry context. It is never presented as an employer’s 401(k) participation rate.
Investment information
When a current plan document identifies an investment, SEC fund filings can add expense and holdings context. Fund results are not described as the performance of every participant’s account.
Dataset license and reuse
Employer profile datasets summarize public government filings and clearly cited plan-source documents. You may link to profile pages and cite them with attribution to 401(k) Plan Report. Reuse of the underlying government records should follow the terms and public-access policies of the original Department of Labor, SEC, or other source named on the page.
Corrections
Filings can be amended, employers can change names, and plan terms can change. Every employer page includes a correction link so readers and plan sponsors can point us to a better source.