How many employers are wasting the money they spend on employee match contributions? The ICI report includes much larger plans and uses an asset-weighted average expense level for mutual funds rather than an unweighted average expense level. While the model measures in dollars, it also converts the amounts accumulated into years of final income - the basis for most retirement planning. Most people have 60 percent to 70 percent of their contributions in stocks, a mix that historically could be expected to grow at an annualized rate of about 8 percent. 1 If you invest in Vanguard Balanced Index Admiral shares, with expenses of 0.09 percent, with an IRA you'll accumulate 9.14 years of final income. In other words, the employer may be wasting most of his matching dollars on the financial services industry. 1 In most small plans - such as small medical groups, legal firms, etc.