Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. 401(k) Review & Grade
Stanley Black & Decker Retirement Account Plan
New Britain, CTManufacturing17,235 active participantsPlan year 2024✓ Auto-enroll
Estimate from the plan's Form 5500 filing · How we grade
$2,026Employer $ per active participant
$5,183Employee $ saved per active participant
0.10%Direct admin cost, % of plan assets
$2.5BNet plan assets, end of year
$94,241Average balance per account
Score breakdown
- Employer generosity7.3 / 5015th percentile for employer $ per participant
- Low cost11.4 / 2546th percentile for low admin cost vs. same-size plans
- Employee saving3.2 / 1521th percentile for employee $ per participant
- Plan features10 / 10Auto-enrollment, Default investment
Total score32 / 100 · Grade D
This plan vs. peers
Peers: Manufacturing plans with 10,000+ active participants (151 plans).
| Measure | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Employer $ per participant | 15th |
| Lower admin cost | 46th |
| Employee saving | 21th |
| Peers that auto-enroll | 69% |
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
- Stanley Black & Decker put in about $2,026 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.
- 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 | $34,926,053 |
| Participant (employee) contributions | $89,326,683 |
| Other contributions (incl. rollovers in) | $14,392,364 |
| Administrative expenses paid from the plan | $2,312,904 |
| Contract administrator fees | $1,245,961 |
| Other admin expenses | $1,066,943 |
| Benefits paid out | $364,299,391 |
| Net assets, start / end of year | $2.4B / $2.5B |
| Active participants, start / end of year | 18,386 / 16,084 |
| Participants with account balances | 26,180 |
| Auto-enrollment (feature code 2S) | Yes |
| Auditor | Fiondella, Milone & Lasaracina, LLP |
| Employer stock held by plan | $100,801,606 |
Largest service providers (Schedule C)
| Principal Life Insurance Company | $1,279,289 reported compensation |
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filing, acknowledgment ID 20250729083806NAL0006830290001, received 2025-07-29, EIN 06-0548860, plan #009, plan year 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Verify at efast.dol.gov.