401(k) fee disclosures are buried in a quarterly statement you probably haven't read. They look small — 0.5%, 1.5%, 2.2%. But compound those over 30 years and the difference between a low-fee plan and a typical plan is often the difference between retiring at 60 and retiring at 70. This calculator shows you exactly what your fees cost.
Five inputs. We'll project the lifetime cost of your current fees vs a low-cost benchmark.
TrumpIRA (launching Jan 2027), 401(k) alts EO, the new DOL fiduciary rule, Roth vs 401(k), and the 2026 LTCG brackets — plus the Owner's Tax Workbook with 60+ moves. One PDF.
If your fee audit shows $50K+ of lifetime cost (most do), a 15-min Discovery Call walks through your options: rollover, low-cost fund selection, when to leave fees alone. Free. No pitch.
Book a free 15-min call →There's no single "fee" number on your statement. There are several, often disclosed separately, and the all-in cost is the sum.
| Fee type | Typical range | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Investment expense ratio | 0.05% (index fund) – 1.5% (active fund) | Each fund's prospectus; quarterly fund-fact sheet |
| Administrative / recordkeeping | $45-$200/yr OR 0.10-0.50% of assets | Annual plan fee disclosure (404a-5) |
| Advisory / investment advice | 0.10-0.50% | Plan disclosure document |
| Revenue sharing / 12b-1 | 0.10-0.40% | Buried in the fund's expense ratio — look for "12b-1 fee" |
The all-in number you want: add up the expense ratios of the funds you actually own, plus the plan admin fee (annualized to %), plus any advisory fee. That's your true cost.
The fee drag from 1.5% vs 0.10% over a 30-year career typically costs 15-25% of your final balance. On a $1M target portfolio, that's $150K-$250K of lost growth. The math compounds because every dollar of fees this year is a dollar that doesn't grow over the remaining 29 years.
(1) Get the 404a-5 annual fee disclosure from your plan administrator — required by ERISA. (2) Add up the expense ratios of the funds you own (look at the holdings tab in your account). (3) Add the plan admin fee (often $40-$80/yr). (4) Divide your total annual cost by your balance to get the all-in %. Most people have never done this; most are paying 1.5%+.
If you've left the employer: yes, easily — open an IRA at Fidelity/Schwab/Vanguard and request a rollover. If you're still with the employer: maybe — some plans allow "in-service rollovers" after age 59½ or after a certain tenure. Read your plan document. If allowed, this is often the highest-value financial move of your career.
Yes — always capture the full employer match first. Then, with anything above the match, evaluate: (a) high-fee 401(k) vs (b) Roth IRA + taxable brokerage. The crossover usually happens around 1.5%+ all-in fees: above that, the fees often eat the tax-deferral advantage versus a taxable account with index funds + tax-loss harvesting.
August 2025 EO opened 401(k) plans to private equity, private credit, real estate, crypto, infrastructure. Implementation is up to plan sponsors + DOL safe-harbor rules. Alt-asset funds typically charge 1-2% management fees + 10-20% performance fees — much higher than index funds. Performance historically exceeds public markets by 2-3%/yr, but after-fee returns are closer. See our Trump IRA + 401(k) alts guide for the full picture.
Yes. Most small-business 401(k) plans are overpriced because they were set up years ago with a packaged provider. Modern providers like Guideline, Vestwell, Human Interest, Employee Fiduciary, and Betterment-for-Business offer all-in plans at 0.30-0.60% with broad index-fund menus. Switching can save your employees $5K-$30K each over their careers and reduce your fiduciary liability. Bonus: the new DOL rule limits employee lawsuits, but a clean plan is still the best defense.
Generally no — unless you have a specific reason and a meaningful non-401(k) portfolio. Private investments charge 1-2.5% in management + 10-20% performance fees, have 5-10 year lock-ups, and are illiquid in a downturn. Most participants are better served by a 70/30 stock/bond index fund at 0.05% expense. Alts make sense for sophisticated investors with sufficient liquid assets elsewhere, not as the core of a retirement portfolio.
Most likely: roll it to an IRA at a low-cost custodian (Fidelity / Schwab / Vanguard). Reasons to leave it: (a) the old plan has unusually low fees (rare), (b) you might need to take it as a loan (you can't from an IRA), (c) you might need the "Rule of 55" early-withdrawal exception (only works for 401(k), not IRA). Otherwise: roll it. Less complexity, lower fees, more investment flexibility.
The Foundation Review covers your 401(k) fees, rollover decisions, Roth conversions, asset location, and the right tax-deferred vs taxable allocation — all against your specific income, age, and goals.
Book the Foundation Review →Guarantee: If we don't surface at least $5,000 of structural savings (annual or lifetime, fees + tax + structure), your $500 is refunded.
$500 · 90 minutes · Credited toward an engagement if we work together.
Good Deals is the planning workbook + advisory practice of Andrew Escher, CFA Charterholder + Investment Adviser Representative based in Austin, TX. Independent stack: Altruist for investment custody, BackNine for insurance placement, Good Deals for the planning layer that ties them together.
We work with solo professionals, agency owners, business owners, and high-income W-2 households who want structural tax + retirement planning — without the typical AUM-fee pitch.