Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc. 401(k) Review & Grade
Lettuce Entertain You Employee Savings Plan
Chicago, ILAccommodation & Food Services5,578 active participantsPlan year 2024
Estimate from the plan's Form 5500 filing · How we grade
$101Employer $ per active participant
$1,185Employee $ saved per active participant
0.33%Direct admin cost, % of plan assets
$66.7MNet plan assets, end of year
–Average balance per account (account count looks misreported)
Score breakdown
- Employer generosity15.0 / 5030th percentile for employer $ per participant
- Low cost5.0 / 2520th percentile for low admin cost vs. same-size plans
- Employee saving10.2 / 1568th percentile for employee $ per participant
- Plan features3 / 10Default investment
- Red-flag deductions-3 pts1 issue reported on the filing
Total score30 / 100 · Grade D
This plan vs. peers
Peers: Accommodation & Food Services plans with 2,500–9,999 active participants (104 plans).
| Measure | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Employer $ per participant | 30th |
| Lower admin cost | 20th |
| Employee saving | 68th |
| Peers that auto-enroll | 15% |
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Red flags from the filing
Corrective distributions: the plan refunded $517,957 in contributions, which usually means it failed annual nondiscrimination testing.
What to do if you're in this plan
- Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises put in about $101 per active participant, below the typical peer ($244). 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 (0.33% of assets) are well above similar-size plans (0.12%). 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.
- 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 | $560,931 |
| Participant (employee) contributions | $6,609,264 |
| Other contributions (incl. rollovers in) | $236,773 |
| Administrative expenses paid from the plan | $197,981 |
| Investment advisory & management fees | $67,422 |
| Benefits paid out | $2,855,598 |
| Net assets, start / end of year | $52.9M / $66.7M |
| Active participants, start / end of year | 5,405 / 5,751 |
| Participants with account balances | 1,671 |
| Auto-enrollment (feature code 2S) | Not reported |
| Auditor | Plante and Moran, PLLC |
Largest service providers (Schedule C)
| Empower Annuity Insurance Company O | $130,559 reported compensation |
| Global Retirement Partners LLC | $67,422 reported compensation |
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filing, acknowledgment ID 20251013114316NAL0001150097001, received 2025-10-13, EIN 36-2943068, plan #001, plan year 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Verify at efast.dol.gov.