Ventura Foods, LLC 401(k) Review & Grade
Ventura Foods, LLC Profit Sharing 401(k) Plan for Production Employees
Brea, CAManufacturing738 active participantsPlan year 2024
Estimate from the plan's Form 5500 filing · How we grade
$222Employer $ per active participant
$620Employee $ saved per active participant
0.16%Direct admin cost, % of plan assets
$16.2MNet plan assets, end of year
–Average balance per account (account count looks misreported)
Score breakdown
- Employer generosity1.6 / 503th percentile for employer $ per participant
- Low cost15.3 / 2561th percentile for low admin cost vs. same-size plans
- Employee saving0.2 / 152th percentile for employee $ per participant
- Plan features3 / 10Default investment
Total score20 / 100 · Grade F
This plan vs. peers
Peers: Manufacturing plans with 500–2,499 active participants (2,376 plans).
| Measure | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Employer $ per participant | 3th |
| Lower admin cost | 61th |
| Employee saving | 2th |
| Peers that auto-enroll | 59% |
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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
- Ventura Foods put in about $222 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.
- 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 | $163,565 |
| Participant (employee) contributions | $457,393 |
| Other contributions (incl. rollovers in) | – |
| Administrative expenses paid from the plan | $25,110 |
| Investment advisory & management fees | $5,004 |
| Benefits paid out | $1,895,834 |
| Net assets, start / end of year | $15.3M / $16.2M |
| Active participants, start / end of year | 742 / 734 |
| Participants with account balances | 299 |
| Auto-enrollment (feature code 2S) | Not reported |
| Auditor | Miller Kaplan Arase, LLP |
Largest service providers (Schedule C)
| Miller Kaplan | $14,500 reported compensation |
| Transamerica Retirement Solutions | $5,606 reported compensation |
| Gallagher Benefit Services | $5,004 reported compensation |
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filing, acknowledgment ID 20251015120540NAL0002261123012, received 2025-10-15, EIN 95-4589254, plan #002, plan year 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Verify at efast.dol.gov.