Estee Lauder, Inc. 401(k) Review & Grade
The Estee Lauder Companies 401(k) Savings Plan
Long Island City, NYManufacturing10,328 active participantsPlan year 2024
Estimate from the plan's Form 5500 filing · How we grade
$5,100Employer $ per active participant
$9,969Employee $ saved per active participant
0.06%Direct admin cost, % of plan assets
$3.2BNet plan assets, end of year
$176,311Average balance per account
Score breakdown
- Employer generosity23.0 / 5046th percentile for employer $ per participant
- Low cost16.3 / 2565th percentile for low admin cost vs. same-size plans
- Employee saving8.9 / 1559th percentile for employee $ per participant
- Plan features0 / 10No auto-enrollment or default investment reported
Total score48 / 100 · Grade C
This plan vs. peers
Peers: Manufacturing plans with 10,000+ active participants (151 plans).
| Measure | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Employer $ per participant | 46th |
| Lower admin cost | 65th |
| Employee saving | 59th |
| Peers that auto-enroll | 69% |
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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
- Estee Lauder put in about $5,100 per active participant, below the typical peer ($5,480). 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 | $52,667,130 |
| Participant (employee) contributions | $102,956,670 |
| Other contributions (incl. rollovers in) | $6,306,265 |
| Administrative expenses paid from the plan | $1,723,814 |
| Investment advisory & management fees | $841,116 |
| Benefits paid out | $211,765,614 |
| Net assets, start / end of year | $2.7B / $3.2B |
| Active participants, start / end of year | 10,901 / 9,754 |
| Participants with account balances | 17,976 |
| Auto-enrollment (feature code 2S) | Not reported |
| Auditor | Grant Thornton LLP |
Largest service providers (Schedule C)
| Alight Solutions LLC | $882,698 reported compensation |
| Arrowmark Partners | $759,935 reported compensation |
| State Street Global Advisors | $65,565 reported compensation |
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filing, acknowledgment ID 20250929120531NAL0015157907001, received 2025-09-29, EIN 13-1871348, plan #002, plan year 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Verify at efast.dol.gov.