Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation 401(k) Review & Grade
Burlington Stores Savings Plan
Burlington, NJManufacturing63,884 active participantsPlan year 2024✓ Auto-enroll
Estimate from the plan's Form 5500 filing · How we grade
$234Employer $ per active participant
$533Employee $ saved per active participant
0.17%Direct admin cost, % of plan assets
$457.0MNet plan assets, end of year
–Average balance per account (account count looks misreported)
Score breakdown
- Employer generosity1.3 / 503th percentile for employer $ per participant
- Low cost5.5 / 2522th percentile for low admin cost vs. same-size plans
- Employee saving0.0 / 150th percentile for employee $ per participant
- Plan features10 / 10Auto-enrollment, Default investment
- Red-flag deductions-3 pts1 issue reported on the filing
Total score14 / 100 · Grade F
This plan vs. peers
Peers: Manufacturing plans with 10,000+ active participants (151 plans).
| Measure | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Employer $ per participant | 3th |
| Lower admin cost | 22th |
| Employee saving | 0th |
| Peers that auto-enroll | 69% |
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Red flags from the filing
Corrective distributions: the plan refunded $6,848 in contributions, which usually means it failed annual nondiscrimination testing.
What to do if you're in this plan
- Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse put in about $234 per active participant, below the typical peer ($5,480). Any match is still an instant return, so contribute enough to get all of it.
- 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 | $14,930,212 |
| Participant (employee) contributions | $34,066,406 |
| Other contributions (incl. rollovers in) | $9,366,467 |
| Administrative expenses paid from the plan | $741,911 |
| Investment advisory & management fees | $159,430 |
| Benefits paid out | $44,291,481 |
| Net assets, start / end of year | $391.1M / $457.0M |
| Active participants, start / end of year | 58,934 / 68,833 |
| Participants with account balances | 8,689 |
| Auto-enrollment (feature code 2S) | Yes |
| Auditor | Baker Tilly US, LLP |
Largest service providers (Schedule C)
| Empower Annuity Insurance Company | $582,481 reported compensation |
| Empower Advisory Group, LLC | $159,430 reported compensation |
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filing, acknowledgment ID 20250930125502NAL0005498691001, received 2025-09-30, EIN 22-1970303, plan #002, plan year 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Verify at efast.dol.gov.