Desco Corporation 401(k) Review & Grade
Desco Corporation Thrift Plan & Trust
New Albany, OHManufacturing516 active participantsPlan year 2024✓ Auto-enroll
Estimate from the plan's Form 5500 filing · How we grade
$1,588Employer $ per active participant
$4,025Employee $ saved per active participant
0.29%Direct admin cost, % of plan assets
$38.1MNet plan assets, end of year
$48,056Average balance per account
Score breakdown
- Employer generosity16.2 / 5032th percentile for employer $ per participant
- Low cost10.3 / 2541th percentile for low admin cost vs. same-size plans
- Employee saving5.6 / 1537th percentile for employee $ per participant
- Plan features10 / 10Auto-enrollment, Default investment
- Red-flag deductions-3 pts1 issue reported on the filing
Total score39 / 100 · Grade D
This plan vs. peers
Peers: Manufacturing plans with 500–2,499 active participants (2,376 plans).
| Measure | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Employer $ per participant | 32th |
| Lower admin cost | 41th |
| Employee saving | 37th |
| Peers that auto-enroll | 59% |
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
Corrective distributions: the plan refunded $24,302 in contributions, which usually means it failed annual nondiscrimination testing.
What to do if you're in this plan
- Desco put in about $1,588 per active participant, below the typical peer ($2,320). 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 | $819,195 |
| Participant (employee) contributions | $2,076,757 |
| Other contributions (incl. rollovers in) | $164,993 |
| Administrative expenses paid from the plan | $106,089 |
| Investment advisory & management fees | $27,810 |
| Benefits paid out | $4,522,639 |
| Net assets, start / end of year | $34.3M / $38.1M |
| Active participants, start / end of year | 569 / 463 |
| Participants with account balances | 793 |
| Auto-enrollment (feature code 2S) | Yes |
| Auditor | Hill Barth & King LLC |
Largest service providers (Schedule C)
| Adp, Inc. | $78,279 reported compensation |
| Noyes Advisors LLC | $27,810 reported compensation |
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filing, acknowledgment ID 20250929050454NAL0010921825001, received 2025-09-29, EIN 31-0869325, plan #001, plan year 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Verify at efast.dol.gov.