Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc. 401(k) Review & Grade
Carriage Services 401(k) Plan
Houston, TXOther Services2,360 active participantsPlan year 2024✓ Auto-enroll
Estimate from the plan's Form 5500 filing · How we grade
$1,078Employer $ per active participant
$2,987Employee $ saved per active participant
0.12%Direct admin cost, % of plan assets
$98.9MNet plan assets, end of year
$35,718Average balance per account
Score breakdown
- Employer generosity22.6 / 5045th percentile for employer $ per participant
- Low cost17.6 / 2570th percentile for low admin cost vs. same-size plans
- Employee saving8.6 / 1558th percentile for employee $ per participant
- Plan features10 / 10Auto-enrollment, Default investment
Total score59 / 100 · Grade C
This plan vs. peers
Peers: Other Services plans with 500–2,499 active participants (333 plans).
| Measure | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Employer $ per participant | 45th |
| Lower admin cost | 70th |
| Employee saving | 58th |
| Peers that auto-enroll | 40% |
Get the monthly 401(k) report card
The best and worst plans, new grades as filings post. One email a month, no spam.
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
- Carriage Funeral Holdings put in about $1,078 per active participant, below the typical peer ($1,257). 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.
- Fund expense ratios aren't in the filing. Look them up in your 404(a)(5) fee disclosure and favor low-cost index or target-date funds.
- 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 | $2,543,542 |
| Participant (employee) contributions | $7,047,886 |
| Other contributions (incl. rollovers in) | $509,930 |
| Administrative expenses paid from the plan | $109,701 |
| Investment advisory & management fees | $47,882 |
| Other admin expenses | $47,387 |
| Benefits paid out | $13,558,589 |
| Net assets, start / end of year | $90.8M / $98.9M |
| Active participants, start / end of year | 2,407 / 2,312 |
| Participants with account balances | 2,770 |
| Auto-enrollment (feature code 2S) | Yes |
| Auditor | Warren Averett |
Largest service providers (Schedule C)
| Empower Advisory Group, LLC | $34,132 reported compensation |
| Capfinancial Partners LLC DBA | $28,533 reported compensation |
| Empower Financial Services, Inc. | $18,184 reported compensation |
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filing, acknowledgment ID 20250903174847NAL0009223635001, received 2025-09-03, EIN 76-0339922, plan #001, plan year 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Verify at efast.dol.gov.