The beauty of fee disclosure regulations and technological breakthroughs is that 401(k) fees have been sliding. Even 9 years after the promulgations of the fee disclosure regulations, it’s still sliding.

The new release of the 401(k) Averages Book shows that the average total plan cost for a small retirement plan (100 participants/$5,000,000 assets) declined from 1.23% to 1.20% over the past year, while the average total plan cost for a large retirement plan (1,000 participants/$50,000,000 assets) declined from 0.91% to 0.90%.

1-3 basis points aren’t a big deal, but it’s indicative of a trend towards lower fees even with consolidation in the 401(k) business.