SAN DIEGO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/03/14 -- BrightScope (www.brightscope.com), a leading provider of independent financial information and investment research, today announced the third ranking of Seattle area companies with the highest ranked 401k plans containing more than $100 million in assets.
"Seattle workers have one of the highest average 401k account balances out of any region BrightScope analyzed this year," said Brooks Herman, Head of Data & Research at BrightScope. "There has been a steady an uptick in retirement contributions, account balances across the country and an increased effort by companies to improve the quality of retirement plan offerings."
Noteworthy findings in the 2014 Top 25 Seattle Area 401k Plans list include:
- Winner's Circle: Moss Adams and Alaska Airlines rank No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, for the third straight year, while Group Health Permanente nabs the No. 3 spot for the second year in a row
- Warm Welcome: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (No. 7), Symetra Life Insurance Company (No. 16) and Foss Marine Holdings, Inc. (No. 17) join the list
- Welcome Back: Attachmate Corporation (No. 19) returns after falling off the list in 2013
- Average account balance for plans listed is $167,346
- Average participation rate for plans on the list is 93.45 percent
- Average company generosity for plans listed is $8,388; the median is $6,971
- Average salary deferral for plans listed is $8,351; the median is $8,522
Top 25 Seattle area companies with the highest ranked 401k plans containing more than $100 million in assets:
Company - Plan Name - BrightScope Rating
1. Moss Adams LLP - Moss Adams LLP Profit Sharing 401k Plan - Partners and Principals - 90.49
2. Alaska Airlines, Inc. - Alaska Airlines, Inc. Pilots Investment & Savings Plan - 88.98
3. Group Health Permanente - Group Health Permanente Medical Group Pension Plan - 87.10
4. Lane Powell PC - Lane Powell PC 401k Profit Sharing Plan - 86.30
5. Russell Investment Group - Russell Retirement Plan - 85.95
6. Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP - Davis Wright Tremaine LLP 401k Profit Sharing Plan and Trust - 85.86
7. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Sharing Retirement Plan - 85.33
8. Perkins Coie LLP - Perkins Coie Retirement and 401k Plan - 85.31
9. Microsoft Corporation - Microsoft Corporation Savings Plus 401k Plan - 84.35
10. The Boeing Co. & Consolidated Subsidiaries - The Boeing Company Voluntary Investment Plan - 84.07
11. Milliman, Inc. - Milliman, Inc. Profit Sharing and Retirement Plan - 83.21
12. Puget Sound Energy, Inc. - Investment Plan for Employees of Puget Sound Energy, Inc. - 82.90
13. Group Health Permanente - Group Health Permanente 401k Plan - 82.68
14. F5 Networks, Inc. - F5 Networks, Inc. 401k Profit Sharing Plan and Trust - 82.32
15. NAES Corporation - NAES Corporation Retirement & 401k Plan - 82.24
16. Symetra Life Insurance Company - Symetra Financial Retirement Savings Plan - 81.69
17. Foss Marine Holdings, Inc. - Foss Marine Holdings, Inc. 401k Plan - 81.54
18. Intermec, Inc. - Intermec, Inc. 401k Retirement Plan - 79.47
19. Attachmate Corporation - The Attachmate Group 401k Plan - 79.22
20. PEMCO Mutual Insurance Company - PEMCO 401k Plan - 79.11
21. Univar USA, Inc. - Univar USA, Inc. Valued Investment Plan - 78.72
22. Plum Creek Timberlands, L.P. - Plum Creek Thrift and Profit Sharing Plan - 78.25
23. The Polyclinic, A P.C. - The Polyclinic, A P.C. 401k Profit Sharing Plan - 78.19
24. Proliance Surgeons, Inc., P.S. - Proliance Surgeons, Inc., P.S. 401k Profit Sharing Plan and Trust - 77.66
25. Avanade Inc. - Avanade 401k Retirement Plan - 77.16
Note: This data is accurate as of November 11, 2014.
BrightScope obtains an increasing amount of its data directly from plan sponsors and record keepers, and augments these primary sources with data from publicly available sources such as the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission. By analyzing and interpreting this data, BrightScope provides unprecedented transparency into the 401k industry.
The BrightScope Rating was developed by BrightScope, Inc. with the help of leading academics and independent 401k fiduciaries. By analyzing more than 200 individual data points, the BrightScope Rating algorithm calculates a single numerical value for each 401k plan. The data points examined cover broad categories such as total plan cost, company generosity and investment menu quality.
BrightScope has rated nearly 50,000 401k and 403b plans, spanning more than 57 million workers and over $3 trillion in assets. Industry adoption of the BrightScope Rating will lead to more cost-effective plans, increased participation rates, higher employee satisfaction and better outcomes for the 60 million employees who depend on their 401k plan for retirement.
About BrightScope
BrightScope is a financial information company that brings transparency to opaque markets through independent research and analysis. Delivered through cloud-based software, BrightScope data drives better decision-making for individual investors, corporate plan sponsors, asset managers, broker-dealers, and financial advisors. The BrightScope Rating™, developed in partnership with leading independent 401k fiduciaries, reviews more than 200 unique data inputs per plan and calculates a single numerical score which defines plan quality at the company level. In April 2011, the company launched BrightScope Advisor Pages™, the first comprehensive and publicly available directory of financial advisors designed to help consumers discover information and conduct due diligence on wealth management professionals. BrightScope also markets a suite of data analytics software products to Fortune 1000 companies, asset managers, broker-dealers, financial advisors, and other market participants. Public ratings for nearly 50,000 retirement plans as well as rating definitions, criteria and methodologies, and information on more than 680,000 financial advisors and nearly 33,000 active advisory firms are available for free at www.brightscope.com.
