Document Library
Account statementsIssued by a provider · Your 401(k) plan / recordkeeper

401(k) Account Statement

The periodic statement showing your 401(k) balance, contributions, employer match, investments, and fees. Provided by your plan's recordkeeper.

Get it / learn more

Your your 401(k) plan / recordkeeper issues your copy. Use the sample below to read your own, and the official guide to go deeper.

About 401(k) plans (IRS)

Where it's explained

Sample

Illustrative — for learning, not an official copy

Marcus's first-quarter 403(b) retirement-plan statement: a recordkeeper header, the statement period (January through March 2026), page tabs for Summary, Activity, Holdings, Fees, and Disclosures, an account-summary band showing the ending balance of $43,799.76 with an identical vested balance (100% vested) and a highlighted personal rate of return of +3.04%, an activity section (beginning $41,000.00, contributions $1,530.00, market gain $1,294.71, fees −$24.96), a single holding (Target Retirement 2050 Index at 0.10%, 100% invested), a highlighted fees section (plan administrative fee $14.00, fund expense ratio 0.10% or $1.00 per $1,000), and a disclosures footer pointing to the Summary Plan Description and the annual fee notice.

Meridian Retirement
Recordkeeper & plan administrator
Quarterly Statement
Jan 1 – Mar 31, 2026
SummaryActivityHoldingsFeesDisclosures
Marcus D. Bell · Riverside Community Health 403(b) Plan · Account •••-4471
ACCOUNT SUMMARY
ENDING BALANCE
$43,799.76
VESTED BALANCE
$43,799.76
100% vested
PERSONAL RATE OF RETURNthe number most people never find
+3.04%this quarter, net of your fees — how your account actually did
ACTIVITY THIS QUARTER
Beginning balance$41,000.00
Contributions (you $1,020.00 + match $510.00)+$1,530.00
Market gain+$1,294.71
Fees−$24.96
Ending balance$43,799.76
HOLDINGS — WHAT YOU OWN
FUNDEXPENSE RATIO%VALUE
Target Retirement 2050 Index0.10%100%$43,799.76
Fully invested — no uninvested cash sitting idle.
FEES — WHAT THIS COSTS YOUshown two ways, by law
Plan administrative fee (this quarter)$14.00
Fund expense ratio0.10% = $1.00 per $1,000
Disclosures. See your Summary Plan Description (SPD) for match formula, vesting, and fees. The annual fee notice (404a-5) lists each fund's 1-, 5-, and 10-year returns against its benchmark.
Fictional specimen for educational use. Name, employer, plan, and figures are invented and refer to no real person or account. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.
Sample — for learning. Marcus's Q1 403(b) statement: ending balance $43,799.76, a +3.04% personal rate of return, one low-cost target-date fund fully invested, and the fees shown two ways.

Marcus's year-end 403(b) statement showing a healthy trend: a recordkeeper header, the 2026 plan-year period, page tabs, an ending balance of $49,940.92, a four-quarter balance trend in which the third quarter dips because the market fell and then recovers to a new high by year-end, and a highlighted return-versus-benchmark line showing the account returned +7.4% against a +7.6% benchmark — trailing by just 0.2%, about the fund's expense ratio, the signature of a healthy low-cost holding.

Meridian Retirement
Recordkeeper & plan administrator
Annual Statement
Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026
SummaryActivityHoldingsFeesDisclosures
Marcus D. Bell · Riverside Community Health 403(b) Plan · Account •••-4471
ENDING BALANCE — DEC 31, 2026
$49,940.92
BALANCE TREND — FOUR QUARTERS
$43.8k
Q1
$46.5k
Q2
$45.7k
Q3
$49.9k
Q4
Q3 dipped when the market fell, then recovered — the line rises across the whole year.
RETURN VS. BENCHMARKtracking — healthy
Your return +7.4%
Benchmark +7.6%
Trailing by 0.2%
Trailing the benchmark by roughly your fee is exactly what a cheap index fund should do.
Disclosures. The annual fee notice (404a-5) lists each fund's 1-, 5-, and 10-year returns against its benchmark. See your Summary Plan Description for plan terms.
Fictional specimen for educational use. Name, employer, plan, and figures are invented and refer to no real person or account. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.
Sample — for learning. Marcus's year-end statement: $49,940.92 ending balance, a Q3 dip that recovers, and a +7.4% return trailing a +7.6% benchmark by 0.2% — the healthy signature.

Brianna's year-end statement, where reading across time reveals two problems the rising balance hides: a recordkeeper header and page tabs, a balance of $95,000, a highlighted return-versus-benchmark line showing her account averaged 6.5% a year against a 7.6% benchmark — lagging by 1.1 points every year, worth roughly $30,786 over her remaining years and the signature of a high-fee active fund charging 0.85%, and a highlighted allocation-drift panel showing her chosen 70% stocks / 30% bonds mix has drifted to 84% stocks / 16% bonds, 14 points more stock risk than she chose. Both problems are flagged.

Meridian Retirement
Recordkeeper & plan administrator
Annual Statement
Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026
SummaryActivityHoldingsFeesDisclosures
Brianna K. Walsh · Lakeshore Manufacturing 401(k) Plan · Account •••-2208
ENDING BALANCE — DEC 31, 2026
$95,000.00
The balance grew — which is exactly why the two problems below stay hidden if you only read this line.
PROBLEM 1 · RETURN VS. BENCHMARKlagging — a fee problem
Your return 6.5%/yr
Benchmark 7.6%/yr
Lagging by 1.1 pts/yr
Year after year of a 1.1-point lag is the signature of a high-fee active fund (0.85%) — worth about $30,786 on this balance over her remaining years.
PROBLEM 2 · ALLOCATION DRIFTdrifted — a rebalancing problem
You chose70% stocks / 30% bonds
You now hold84% stocks / 16% bonds
A rising market pushed her 14 points more into stocks than she chose — more crash risk than she signed up for, right as she nears retirement.
HOLDINGS
FUNDEXPENSE RATIO%
Apex Growth Fund (active)0.85%84%
Total US Bond Market Index0.04%16%
Disclosures. The annual fee notice (404a-5) lists each fund's 1-, 5-, and 10-year returns against its benchmark — the comparison that makes a fee leak visible. See your Summary Plan Description for plan terms.
Fictional specimen for educational use. Name, employer, plan, and figures are invented and refer to no real person or account. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.
Sample — for learning. Brianna's statement: a growing $95,000 balance hides a return lagging its benchmark by 1.1 points a year (~$30,786) and an allocation drifted from 70/30 to 84/16.