Southwest Airlines Tops Best 401(k) List

If you're a pilot for Southwest Airlines and save through your company 401(k), congratulations. You've invested in the country's highest-rated retirement savings plan of 2011.

On Tuesday, BrightScope, the independent 401(k) rating service, released its annual list of the top retirement plans with assets of more than $1 billion. In addition to Southwest, companies in internet services, pharmaceutical manufacturing, management consulting, oil and gas production, and financial services topped the list.

For 2011, BrightScope rated nearly 50,000 U.S. plans covering more than 30 million workers and representing more than $2 trillion in assets. The San Diego-based company rates plans from 0 to 100 and analyzes 200 criteria for individual 401(k) plans, such as how generous a company is in matching employee contributions, administrative costs and the quality of investments offered in a plan.

The Southwest Airlines Pilots' Retirement Savings Plan, which covers 6,100 employees, received a score of 90.83 based on low fees and "Great" scores for company generosity, number of eligible employees who use the plan, and average account balance per participating employee.

Google's 401(k) plan, which covers 18,700 employees, appeared on BrightScope's top-30 list for the first time this year, showing up at No. 19. Google's score of 86.61 is based on lower-than-average fees and "Great" scores for company generosity, participation rate and salary deferrals, according to BrightScope.

BrightScope launched its rating service three years ago, as companies faced increased scrutiny to be more forthcoming about plan fees. Since then, "Plan sponsors are using data more effectively, conducting better due diligence and making superior overall decisions," says BrightScope CEO and co-founder Mike Alfred. "Ultimately, these improvements will lead to a more financially secure future for American workers."

Here's a complete list of BrightScope's top 30 retirement savings plans for 2011, including name and rating score for each:

1. Southwest Airlines Pilots' Retirement Savings Plan, 90.83
2. The Savings Plan of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., 90.82
3. Wellington Retirement and Pension Plan, 90.13
4. Deloitte Profit Sharing Plan, 89.91
5. United Airlines Pilot Directed Account Plan, 89.11
6. Amgen Retirement and Savings Plan, 88.99
7. Employees Savings and Retirement Plan of Credit Suisse, 88.44
8. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. Investment Savings Plan, 88.16
9. Southern California Permanente Medical Group Retirement Plan, 87.57
10. Bayer Corp. Savings and Retirement Plan, 87.37
11. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Savings and Investment Program, 87.23
12. ExxonMobil Savings Plan, 87.07
13. Chevron Employee Savings Investment Plan, 87.03
14. Sanofi-Aventis US Savings Plan, 86.96
15. BASF Corp. Retirement Savings Plan, 86.95
16. Bechtel Trust & Thrift Plan, 86.76
17. Ernst & Young Partnership Retirement Plan, 86.65
18. Anadarko Employee Savings Plan, 86.64
19. Google Inc. 401k Savings Plan, 86.61
20. Genentech, Inc. Tax Reduction Investment Plan, 86.36
21. ConocoPhillips Savings Plan, 86.30
22. IBM 401k Plus Plan, 86.28
23. BP Employee Savings Plan, 86.26
24. Shell Provident Fund, 86.23
25. AstraZeneca Savings and Security Plan, 85.92
26. GlaxoSmithKline Retirement Savings Plan, 85.79
27. UBS Savings and Investment Plan, 85.39
28. Federal Express Corp. Pilots' Retirement Savings Plan, 85.26
29. Goldman Sachs 401k Plan, 85.25
30. The Vanguard Retirement and Savings Plan, 85.20

You can use BrightScope's 401(k) Ratings Directory to find out how your employer's retirement savings plan stacks up.

Read more: SecondAct's Retirement Savings Center