Empire Southwest LLC 401(k) Review & Grade
Empire Retirement Savings Plan
Mesa, AZReal Estate & Rental4,240 active participantsPlan year 2024✓ Auto-enroll
Estimate from the plan's Form 5500 filing · How we grade
$2,772Employer $ per active participant
$7,896Employee $ saved per active participant
0.10%Direct admin cost, % of plan assets
$487.3MNet plan assets, end of year
$100,316Average balance per account
Score breakdown
- Employer generosity39.8 / 5080th percentile for employer $ per participant
- Low cost14.6 / 2558th percentile for low admin cost vs. same-size plans
- Employee saving12.6 / 1584th percentile for employee $ per participant
- Plan features10 / 10Auto-enrollment, Default investment
Total score77 / 100 · Grade A
This plan vs. peers
Peers: Real Estate & Rental plans with 2,500–9,999 active participants (50 plans).
| Measure | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Employer $ per participant | 80th |
| Lower admin cost | 58th |
| Employee saving | 84th |
| Peers that auto-enroll | 46% |
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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
- Empire Southwest put in about $2,772 per active participant, more than the typical peer ($1,141). 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.
- 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 | $11,753,431 |
| Participant (employee) contributions | $33,482,078 |
| Other contributions (incl. rollovers in) | $1,988,749 |
| Administrative expenses paid from the plan | $436,281 |
| Benefits paid out | $37,691,920 |
| Net assets, start / end of year | $416.8M / $487.3M |
| Active participants, start / end of year | 4,303 / 4,178 |
| Participants with account balances | 4,858 |
| Auto-enrollment (feature code 2S) | Yes |
| Auditor | Cliftonlarsonallen LLP |
Largest service providers (Schedule C)
| Oneamerica Retirement Services LLC | $356,864 reported compensation |
| Merrill Lynch | $54,231 reported compensation |
| Cliftonlarsonallen LLP | $14,999 reported compensation |
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filing, acknowledgment ID 20250724105249NAL0005204593001, received 2025-07-24, EIN 86-0894087, plan #002, plan year 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Verify at efast.dol.gov.