Springfield ranks poorly on 401(k) list

Springfield ranked near the bottom of Missouri cities on a list of the best 401(k) benefit plans in the state.

In the study by financial data tracking firm SmartAsset, the Queen City was No. 70 on the list of 80 Show-Me State cities examined. The study compares employer contributions with total funds and also factors investment performance and administrative fees, according to a news release.

Springfield employers contributed an average 16.8 percent. Employees’ 401(k) plans had an average investment performance of 5.5 percent, and fees were about 0.3 percent. Springfield ranked 3,329th in the nation, according to the study.

The top-ranking Missouri city was Caruthersville in the Bootheel, and it had an average employer contribution of 64.3 percent, investment performance percentage of 13.9 percent and relatively little fees. The city of roughly 6,000 ranked No. 3 overall on SmartAsset’s list.

Rounding out the top five in Missouri were:
    •    No. 2: St. Peters, 38.3 percent employer contribution, 13.9 percent investment performance and 0.1 percent administrative fees;
    •    No. 3: Neosho, 46.7 percent employer contribution, 9.3 percent investment performance and 0.3 percent fees;
    •    No. 4: Cameron, 45.4 percent employer contribution, 6.3 percent investment performance and 0.1 percent fees; and
    •    No. 5, Barnhart, 31.7 percent employer contribution, 9.8 percent investment performance and 0.1 percent fees.

The No. 1 city in the nation was Kenilworth, N.J., where employers contributed 28.5 percent, investment performance was 24.7 percent and administrative fees are nonexistent, according to the study.