The Best in Class 401(k) Plans are now online at http://www.plansponsor.com/2015-Plansponsor-401k-Best-in-Class-Plans/

BEST IN CLASS PLANS

Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield
Black & Veatch
BlackRock, Inc.
Bohannan Huston, Inc.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
The Cooper Companies
DENSO International America, Inc.
Directed Account Plan
Essenita Health
FairPoint Communications, Inc.
First National Bank Alaska
Francis Investment Counsel
Grange Mutual Casualty Company
Lancaster General Health 401(k)
Land O’Lakes, Inc.
MasterCard
MDU Resources Group, Inc.
Motorola Solutions
National Futures Association
North Shore–LIJ Health System
Pitney Bowes
Portland General Electric
Providence Health & Services
Solix, Inc.
TASC, Inc.
TD Ameritrade
TriMas Corporation
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC

The 2015 Best in Class 401(k) Plan designation was given to 401(k) retirement plan sponsors that meet the highest standard of excellence, as deemed by PLANSPONSOR’S research and editorial team. Recipients of the 2015 Best in Class 401(k) Plan designation were selected from the almost 4,000 401(k) plans that responded to PLANSPONSOR’s annual Defined Contribution (DC) Survey.

Each 401(k) plan participating in the survey was evaluated and scored on its usage and implementation of more than 30 criteria related to plan design, oversight/governance and participant outcomes. Plans needed to have certain features to be considered, such as an above average participation rate, use of automatic escalation and an employer contribution—discretionary or nonelective. Other criteria were not mandated but did earn the plan additional points, such as auto-enrollment, short eligibility schedules and immediate vesting.

The 29 plans we recognize here as “best in class” represent diverse industries and participant demographics. However, they still share many attributes—for example, all offer both matching and profit-sharing/nonelective contributions. As one might expect, the winning plans also consistently topped their peers in terms of outcomes and the prevalence of participant-friendly practices, featuring higher average deferral rates, more available advice and regular fee benchmarking.