The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. 401(k) Review & Grade
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. Incentive Savings Plan
Pittsburgh, PAFinance & Insurance53,892 active participantsPlan year 2024✓ Auto-enroll
Estimate from the plan's Form 5500 filing · How we grade
$3,290Employer $ per active participant
$7,562Employee $ saved per active participant
0.08%Direct admin cost, % of plan assets
$10.2BNet plan assets, end of year
$134,705Average balance per account
Score breakdown
- Employer generosity9.9 / 5020th percentile for employer $ per participant
- Low cost12.7 / 2551th percentile for low admin cost vs. same-size plans
- Employee saving3.4 / 1523th percentile for employee $ per participant
- Plan features10 / 10Auto-enrollment, Default investment
Total score36 / 100 · Grade D
This plan vs. peers
Peers: Finance & Insurance plans with 10,000+ active participants (72 plans).
| Measure | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Employer $ per participant | 20th |
| Lower admin cost | 51th |
| Employee saving | 23th |
| Peers that auto-enroll | 74% |
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
- PNC Financial Services Group put in about $3,290 per active participant, below the typical peer ($5,179). 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 | $177,317,000 |
| Participant (employee) contributions | $407,540,000 |
| Other contributions (incl. rollovers in) | – |
| Administrative expenses paid from the plan | $8,250,000 |
| Contract administrator fees | $3,836,000 |
| Investment advisory & management fees | $4,414,000 |
| Benefits paid out | $1,044,066,000 |
| Net assets, start / end of year | $9.3B / $10.2B |
| Active participants, start / end of year | 54,604 / 53,180 |
| Participants with account balances | 75,644 |
| Auto-enrollment (feature code 2S) | Yes |
| Auditor | Baker Tilly US, LLP |
| Employer stock held by plan | $492,672,000 |
Largest service providers (Schedule C)
| Alight Solutions Fin Advs-Prof Mgmt | $4,099,293 reported compensation |
| Alight Solutions | $3,183,309 reported compensation |
| Cambridge Associates LLC | $196,876 reported compensation |
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filing, acknowledgment ID 20251015111606NAL0002308595003, received 2025-10-15, EIN 25-1435979, plan #001, plan year 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Verify at efast.dol.gov.