When I am meeting with plan sponsors to review the specifics of their defined contribution retirement plans, I am routinely asked about how they compare to other plans.
Notwithstanding the variety of sizes of plans, its not necessarily a bad question to ask. Section 404 of ERISA generally defines prudence as acting in accordance with how a reasonable person in like circumstances would act. However, decisions on how to structure a plan are settlor functions, not necessarily fiduciary functions so what is reasonable in the fiduciary sense may not apply in the framework of a settlor function. But since settlors should still act reasonably in discharging their roles, it does not hurt to consider what others might be doing.
