Western Home Services 401(k) Review & Grade
Western Home Employees Retirement Plan
Cedar Falls, IAHealth Care & Social Assistance822 active participantsPlan year 2024
Estimate from the plan's Form 5500 filing · How we grade
$654Employer $ per active participant
$1,225Employee $ saved per active participant
0.56%Direct admin cost, % of plan assets
$16.6MNet plan assets, end of year
–Average balance per account (account count looks misreported)
Score breakdown
- Employer generosity20.4 / 5041th percentile for employer $ per participant
- Low cost5.0 / 2520th percentile for low admin cost vs. same-size plans
- Employee saving4.1 / 1527th percentile for employee $ per participant
- Plan features3 / 10Default investment
Total score33 / 100 · Grade D
This plan vs. peers
Peers: Health Care & Social Assistance plans with 500–2,499 active participants (1,427 plans).
| Measure | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Employer $ per participant | 41th |
| Lower admin cost | 20th |
| Employee saving | 27th |
| Peers that auto-enroll | 36% |
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
- Western Home Services put in about $654 per active participant, below the typical peer ($976). 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 (0.56% of assets) are well above similar-size plans (0.23%). 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 | $537,681 |
| Participant (employee) contributions | $1,007,017 |
| Other contributions (incl. rollovers in) | $59,636 |
| Administrative expenses paid from the plan | $90,005 |
| Contract administrator fees | $6,658 |
| Investment advisory & management fees | $83,347 |
| Benefits paid out | $3,234,329 |
| Net assets, start / end of year | $15.8M / $16.6M |
| Active participants, start / end of year | 804 / 840 |
| Participants with account balances | 307 |
| Auto-enrollment (feature code 2S) | Not reported |
| Auditor | Uhy, LLP |
Largest service providers (Schedule C)
| LPL Financial LLC | $34,123 reported compensation |
| Paradigm Benefits LLC | $11,528 reported compensation |
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filing, acknowledgment ID 20250929145613NAL0010999393001, received 2025-09-29, EIN 27-2825987, plan #001, plan year 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Verify at efast.dol.gov.