Carefirst, Inc. 401(k) Review & Grade
The Carefirst 401(k) Plan
Owings Mills, MDFinance & Insurance6,110 active participantsPlan year 2024✓ Auto-enroll
Estimate from the plan's Form 5500 filing · How we grade
$8,099Employer $ per active participant
$9,521Employee $ saved per active participant
0.06%Direct admin cost, % of plan assets
$1.1BNet plan assets, end of year
$131,357Average balance per account
Score breakdown
- Employer generosity40.7 / 5081th percentile for employer $ per participant
- Low cost19.0 / 2576th percentile for low admin cost vs. same-size plans
- Employee saving9.3 / 1562th percentile for employee $ per participant
- Plan features10 / 10Auto-enrollment, Default investment
- Red-flag deductions-3 pts1 issue reported on the filing
Total score76 / 100 · Grade A
This plan vs. peers
Peers: Finance & Insurance plans with 2,500–9,999 active participants (199 plans).
| Measure | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Employer $ per participant | 81th |
| Lower admin cost | 76th |
| Employee saving | 62th |
| Peers that auto-enroll | 66% |
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Red flags from the filing
Corrective distributions: the plan refunded $9,000 in contributions, which usually means it failed annual nondiscrimination testing.
What to do if you're in this plan
- Carefirst put in about $8,099 per active participant, more than the typical peer ($4,489). Contribute at least enough to collect the full match. Skipping it leaves part of your pay on the table.
- 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 | $49,484,000 |
| Participant (employee) contributions | $58,172,000 |
| Other contributions (incl. rollovers in) | $11,170,000 |
| Administrative expenses paid from the plan | $549,000 |
| Benefits paid out | $98,153,000 |
| Net assets, start / end of year | $920.0M / $1.1B |
| Active participants, start / end of year | 5,934 / 6,286 |
| Participants with account balances | 8,154 |
| Auto-enrollment (feature code 2S) | Yes |
| Auditor | SB & Company LLC |
Largest service providers (Schedule C)
| Fidelity Inv Inst Oper Co LLC | $549,000 reported compensation |
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filing, acknowledgment ID 20251012103535NAL0000081107001, received 2025-10-12, EIN 52-2069215, plan #002, plan year 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Verify at efast.dol.gov.