Key Takeaways
- No public source ranks 401(k) recordkeepers by assets; the Form 5500 Schedule C is the only public record of which recordkeeper a plan pays.
- Counted by the large 401(k) plans that name them for recordkeeping, Fidelity, Empower and Principal lead, followed by ADP and Transamerica.
- Recordkeepers paid directly by the employer, and small plans, do not appear on Schedule C, so the count understates providers serving the largest and the smallest plans.
- Every count comes from the Department of Labor's Form 5500 data, with each brand's filed names kept in the source file.
There is no public register of 401(k) recordkeepers and the assets each one administers. There is one public record of which recordkeepers plans actually use: the annual Form 5500 filing, in which every large plan lists the service providers it pays. This page counts them, recordkeeper by recordkeeper, from the Department of Labor's own data.
How this ranking works
Every figure on this page comes from the Department of Labor's Form 5500 datasets for plan year 2024, as published by the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) on September 30, 2026. Nothing has been estimated, adjusted or taken from a provider's own marketing.
Form 5500 has no field for "recordkeeper". The only place a plan names one is Schedule C, where a large plan (generally one with 100 or more participants) lists each service provider it paid $5,000 or more, directly or indirectly, with a code for each service. Code 64 is "recordkeeping and information management". So the measure is:
The number of large 401(k) plans whose filing names the provider for recordkeeping (Schedule C service code 64).
In the Form 5500 data for plan year 2024, 93,062 401(k) plans filed; 54,415 of them listed service providers on Schedule C, and 42,034 named at least one provider for recordkeeping. Those 42,034 plans are the base for the shares below.
The 401(k) recordkeepers plans name most often
Ranked by the number of large 401(k) plans naming the provider for recordkeeping on Schedule C, plan year 2024:
| Rank | Recordkeeper | Large 401(k) plans naming it for recordkeeping | Share of plans naming a recordkeeper | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fidelity | 11,016 | 26.2% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 2 | Empower | 8,542 | 20.3% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 3 | Principal | 5,402 | 12.9% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 4 | ADP | 4,080 | 9.7% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 5 | Transamerica | 2,018 | 4.8% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 6 | Vanguard | 1,127 | 2.7% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 7 | Voya | 1,073 | 2.6% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 8 | Ascensus | 925 | 2.2% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 9 | Capital Group | 850 | 2.0% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 10 | T. Rowe Price | 826 | 2.0% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 11 | Charles Schwab | 812 | 1.9% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 12 | John Hancock | 716 | 1.7% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 13 | OneAmerica | 652 | 1.6% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 14 | Newport | 409 | 1.0% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 15 | Alerus | 310 | 0.7% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 16 | Merrill | 294 | 0.7% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 17 | J.P. Morgan | 274 | 0.7% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 18 | Nationwide | 271 | 0.6% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 19 | Guideline | 217 | 0.5% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
| 20 | Milliman | 192 | 0.5% | DOL Form 5500 Schedule C, plan year 2024 |
A plan can name more than one provider for recordkeeping, for example a recordkeeping platform and a third-party administrator, so the shares do not add up to 100%.
What this measures, and what it does not
This is a count of plans served, and it is deliberately not a ranking by assets. Three things shape it:
- Only providers paid from the plan appear. Schedule C reports compensation a provider receives from the plan or in connection with it. A recordkeeper paid directly by the employer is not reported there at all. That arrangement is more common among the very largest plans, so a recordkeeper whose clients are mostly very large employers is understated here, and summing plan assets by provider would understate it far more. That is why this page counts plans rather than adding up their assets.
- Only large plans file Schedule C. Small plans are not required to, and most file the short-form Form 5500-SF, which has no service-provider schedule. Recordkeepers that specialize in small plans are therefore undercounted here.
- Names are grouped by brand. Plans name recordkeepers by legal entity and spell them many ways. This page groups filed names into the brand a reader knows (for example, every Empower insurance and advisory entity under Empower) by a published rule, and keeps each brand's filed names and employer identification numbers in its source file. Names are as filed for plan year 2024; a business sold since then appears under the name its clients' filings used.
Who is on this list
The list shows how many different kinds of business sell 401(k) recordkeeping:
- Fund companies and brokerage firms such as Fidelity, Vanguard, Capital Group, T. Rowe Price, Charles Schwab, Merrill and J.P. Morgan, whose recordkeeping sits alongside the investments and accounts they also provide.
- Insurance-based providers such as Empower, Principal, Transamerica, Voya, John Hancock, OneAmerica and Nationwide, many of which grew out of group annuity contracts.
- Payroll companies, led by ADP, which sell retirement plans to the same employers they pay.
- Recordkeeping and administration specialists such as Ascensus, Newport, Alerus and Milliman, and digital providers such as Guideline, which serve the plan through partners or directly.
What the ranking means for technology buyers
Recordkeeping is the system of record for every participant account, contribution and distribution in a plan, and changing recordkeeper is a substantial project for a plan sponsor.
- How to evaluate and select one is covered in Choosing a 401(k) Recordkeeper.
- The vendors are listed in the wealth and private banking directory.
- For the other institutions that hold and manage client assets, see Largest Custodian Banks and Largest RIAs in the U.S..
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What does a 401(k) recordkeeper do? A: A recordkeeper maintains the official record of each participant's account in a retirement plan: contributions, investment elections, balances, loans and distributions. Most also provide the participant website and call center, process transactions and produce the data the plan needs for testing and its annual Form 5500.
Q: Why is this ranking by number of plans rather than by assets? A: The only public source that names recordkeepers, Schedule C of Form 5500, reports only providers paid from the plan. Providers paid directly by the employer, which is more common among the largest plans, do not appear, so adding up plan assets by provider would badly understate some recordkeepers. A count of plans is affected the same way but far less, and this page says plainly what it measures.
Q: Why do small-plan recordkeepers seem to be missing? A: Schedule C is filed only by large plans, generally those with 100 or more participants. Small plans are not required to file it, and most file the short Form 5500-SF, which does not list service providers, so providers that focus on small plans are undercounted.
Q: Where does this data come from, and how often is it updated? A: From the Form 5500 datasets the Department of Labor publishes for each plan year, compiled from plans' annual filings. The data for a plan year becomes largely complete well after the year ends, because plans have until the following autumn to file, so this page will be refreshed from each new plan year's data.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a 401(k) recordkeeper do?
A recordkeeper maintains the official record of each participant's account in a retirement plan: contributions, investment elections, balances, loans and distributions. Most also provide the participant website and call center, process transactions and produce the data the plan needs for testing and its annual Form 5500.
Why is this ranking by number of plans rather than by assets?
The only public source that names recordkeepers, Schedule C of Form 5500, reports only providers paid from the plan. Providers paid directly by the employer, which is more common among the largest plans, do not appear, so adding up plan assets by provider would badly understate some recordkeepers. A count of plans is affected the same way but far less, and this page says plainly what it measures.
Why do small-plan recordkeepers seem to be missing?
Schedule C is filed only by large plans, generally those with 100 or more participants. Small plans are not required to file it, and most file the short Form 5500-SF, which does not list service providers, so providers that focus on small plans are undercounted.
Where does this data come from, and how often is it updated?
From the Form 5500 datasets the Department of Labor publishes for each plan year, compiled from plans' annual filings. The data for a plan year becomes largely complete well after the year ends, because plans have until the following autumn to file, so this page will be refreshed from each new plan year's data.