About PlainRetire

Our Mission

PlainRetire exists because every American worker with a retirement plan deserves to know how that plan compares to others. The Department of Labor collects detailed annual reports from every employer-sponsored retirement plan in the country, Form 5500 filings that disclose assets, participants, investments, fees, and financial condition. But these filings are buried in bulk data downloads designed for regulators and auditors, not for the employees whose retirement savings are at stake.

We believe retirement plan transparency should not require a data science degree. PlainRetire transforms raw DOL Form 5500 filings into a searchable, browseable format that lets anyone look up their employer's plan, compare it to industry peers, and understand what the numbers actually mean for their retirement security.

We present the data without editorializing about specific plans. Our role is to make the government data accessible and let plan participants, researchers, journalists, and policymakers draw their own conclusions from the official federal filings.

Our Data Sources

DOL Form 5500 Annual Reports

All data on PlainRetire comes from the U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (DOL EBSA) Form 5500 public disclosure database. Form 5500 is a mandatory annual report that retirement plan sponsors must file with the DOL, disclosing plan assets, participant counts, investments, service providers, and financial condition.

Plans with 100 or more participants file the full Form 5500; smaller plans file Form 5500-SF (Short Form). Government plans (federal, state, and local pension plans) are generally exempt from Form 5500 filing and are not included in our database. The DOL publishes these filings as open data at dol.gov/ebsa.

How We Process the Data

We download the annual Form 5500 research datasets from the DOL and process them through the following steps:

  • Parsing and normalization: DOL files contain multiple linked tables (plan summary, financial data, schedule of assets, service providers). We join these into unified plan records with consistent field names and formatting.
  • Plan type classification: We classify plans into standard categories (401(k), defined benefit, profit sharing, ESOP, money purchase) based on the plan characteristics code field, which encodes plan type as a binary string.
  • Geographic normalization: Sponsor addresses are normalized to standard state and city names for consistent geographic grouping and search.
  • Multi-year linking: We link filings across plan years (2022-2024) using the plan's acknowledgment ID, enabling trend analysis for individual plans.
  • Industry classification: Plans are categorized by sponsor industry using standard industrial codes reported on the filing.

Data Currency

PlainRetire currently displays data from the 2023 Form 5500 filing year, which is the most recently completed filing cycle. Plan filings are typically due 7 months after the plan year ends (July 31 for calendar-year plans), with a possible 2.5-month extension. The 2023 filings were received by the DOL through October 2024.

We also include 2022 and 2024 trend data where available. 2024 filings are still arriving and represent a partial year of data. The DOL publishes updated research datasets periodically; we update PlainRetire within 30 days of each new release.

Like all federal regulatory filings, there is inherent lag between the reporting period and public availability. A plan's most recent filing may reflect conditions 12-18 months in the past.

Editorial Independence

Content on PlainRetire is compiled by our editorial team. Raw data from IRS, SEC, FDIC, NCUA, and related financial agencies is transformed into readable profiles by our continuous editorial pipeline, validated against the source before publication. The PlainRetire editorial team, is responsible for editorial standards, methodology, and corrections.

We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement from financial firms, banks, advisors, or any covered entity. Our only revenue source is contextual display advertising served by Google AdSense, advertisers do not influence which entities we cover or how we present data, and they do not receive preferential placement.

Limitations & Disclaimers

PlainRetire is an informational resource. Form 5500 data should be one input among many when evaluating retirement plans. Every plan has unique features, investment options, and employer contributions that cannot be fully captured by the summary data in Form 5500 filings.

  • Scope limitation: PlainRetire covers private-sector employer-sponsored plans that file Form 5500. Government pension plans (federal, state, local), individual IRAs, and plans with fewer than 100 participants using Form 5500-SF may not be fully represented.
  • Filing lag: The most recent data reflects the 2023 plan year. Plan assets, participant counts, and financial conditions may have changed significantly since the filing date.
  • Asset valuation: Total assets are reported at book or market value as of the plan year end date. Market fluctuations since that date are not reflected.
  • Plan mergers and terminations: Plans that merged or terminated after the filing date still appear in the database. These are not errors, they reflect the plan's status as of the filing period.

This site does not provide investment, retirement planning, or fiduciary advice. Consult a qualified financial advisor or plan administrator for decisions about your retirement savings. PlainRetire is not affiliated with the DOL, IRS, or any plan sponsor.

We are not a pension administrator and hold no individual accounts. PlainRetire cannot check your benefit status, process a claim or survivor benefit, change a direct deposit, or update an address on file. Those requests must go to the administrator of your specific plan (often your current or former employer's benefits department). If you can't locate the plan, the U.S. Department of Labor's EBSA (askebsa.dol.gov, 1-866-444-3272) and the PBGC (pbgc.gov, 1-800-400-7242) help find and claim private pensions for free.

Contact

Questions, corrections, or feedback? Email us at hello@plainretire.com.

We welcome:

  • Questions about data sources or methodology
  • Reports of apparent data errors or anomalies
  • Suggestions for additional data or features
  • Media and research inquiries

PlainRetire is a data intelligence company that builds free, public-interest data portals from government datasets.