American Express Company and Its Participating Subsidiaries 401(k) Review & Grade
American Express Retirement Savings Plan
New York, NYFinance & Insurance25,040 active participantsPlan year 2024✓ Auto-enroll
Estimate from the plan's Form 5500 filing · How we grade
$10,706Employer $ per active participant
$12,159Employee $ saved per active participant
0.17%Direct admin cost, % of plan assets
$8.9BNet plan assets, end of year
$233,951Average balance per account
Score breakdown
- Employer generosity47.2 / 5094th percentile for employer $ per participant
- Low cost6.1 / 2525th percentile for low admin cost vs. same-size plans
- Employee saving12.3 / 1582th percentile for employee $ per participant
- Plan features10 / 10Auto-enrollment, Default investment
Total score76 / 100 · Grade A
This plan vs. peers
Peers: Finance & Insurance plans with 10,000+ active participants (72 plans).
| Measure | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Employer $ per participant | 94th |
| Lower admin cost | 25th |
| Employee saving | 82th |
| Peers that auto-enroll | 74% |
Red flags from the filing
No red flags were reported on this filing's compliance questions.
What to do if you're in this plan
- American Express Company and Its Participating Subsidiaries put in about $10,706 per active participant, more than the typical peer ($5,179). Contribute at least enough to collect the full match. Skipping it leaves part of your pay on the table.
- The filing shows total dollars, not the match formula. Ask HR for the Summary Plan Description so you know the exact match and vesting schedule.
- Direct plan expenses (0.17% of assets) are well above similar-size plans (0.09%). Check your annual fee disclosure, choose low-cost index funds if you can, and think about whether savings beyond the match belong in an IRA.
- The plan auto-enrolls employees. Check your default contribution rate. Defaults are often lower than what it takes to get the full match.
- Changing jobs? You can usually leave the money in the plan, move it to your new employer's plan, or roll it into an IRA. Don't cash out: you'd owe taxes and possibly a 10% penalty.
The raw numbers from the filing
| Employer contributions | $268,070,180 |
| Participant (employee) contributions | $304,464,691 |
| Other contributions (incl. rollovers in) | $43,191,112 |
| Administrative expenses paid from the plan | $13,842,105 |
| Investment advisory & management fees | $11,651,262 |
| Other admin expenses | $182,479 |
| Benefits paid out | $732,229,509 |
| Net assets, start / end of year | $7.7B / $8.9B |
| Active participants, start / end of year | 25,030 / 25,049 |
| Participants with account balances | 38,135 |
| Auto-enrollment (feature code 2S) | Yes |
| Auditor | Mcconnell & Jones LLP |
| Employer stock held by plan | $1,169,700,141 |
Largest service providers (Schedule C)
| Principal Life Insurance Company | $2,009,783 reported compensation |
| Morgan Stanley Investment Mgmt | $1,918,448 reported compensation |
| The London Company | $1,743,432 reported compensation |
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filing, acknowledgment ID 20250626081644NAL0008761217001, received 2025-06-26, EIN 13-4922250, plan #002, plan year 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Verify at efast.dol.gov.
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