This report tracks which 401(k) recordkeepers GAINED and LOST plans between plan years 2023 and 2024, measured directly from changes in the primary recordkeeper disclosed on DOL Form 5500 Schedule C. Across the large-plan universe, 1,988 continuing 401(k) plans — holding $220.3B in assets — changed their primary recordkeeper over the year. Because every move is read from an actual filing, the individual plan transitions behind the net numbers are visible, not just the totals.
Empower added the most assets on net (+$89.1B across +269 plans on net); Prudential / PGIM saw the largest net asset outflow (−$64.7B). Net asset flows are concentrated in a small number of very large plans, so the net-PLANS column is the more stable measure of who is winning and losing business.
How these numbers are computed
A "switch" is a continuing 401(k) plan — the same sponsor EIN and plan number filing in both years — whose primary recordkeeper brand changed between plan year 2023 and 2024. The primary recordkeeper is the disclosed Schedule C recordkeeper receiving the highest direct compensation; provider-name spellings are consolidated into brand families using a curated, published mapping. Scope, brand roll-up, the 401(k) filter, and the exclusion of pooled investment vehicles (master trusts and other Direct Filing Entities) are identical to the Recordkeeper Market-Share report, so the two tie out. Asset flow is the switched plan's own current-year end-of-year total plan assets and is dominated by a small number of very large plans; net plans is the more robust measure. Headline movers and named switches are limited to curated recordkeeper brands. Plans appearing in only one of the two years are not switches and are excluded. A large cluster of moves in the same direction between two specific brands often reflects a book acquisition or platform consolidation (one recordkeeper absorbing another's business) rather than plan-by-plan competitive wins; the named-moves table is provided so each transition can be read on its own. Named transitions are drawn solely from public DOL filings and describe a plan's disclosed service-provider change as a matter of public record; they are not a solicitation, recommendation, or statement about any provider's service quality. See the methodology for full definitions and limitations.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor EFAST2 public release of Form 5500 & Form 5500-SF, Schedule C (service providers) and Schedule H (financials), plan years 2022–2025. Generated July 27, 2026.
