Form 5500 2023→2024: What Changed in U.S. Retirement Plans
108,072 plans filed Form 5500 in both 2023 and 2024
Among 108,072 ERISA plans with participant and asset figures in both plan years 2023 and 2024, 87,303 reported higher end-of-year assets and 19,907 reported lower assets; 51,072 reported more participants and 35,446 reported fewer. Counts come from consecutive DOL Form 5500 filings matched on EIN + plan number, not from authored estimates.
- 108,072 plans filed in both 2023 and 2024
- 87,303 plans with higher EOY assets
- 19,907 plans with lower EOY assets
- 51,072 plans with more participants
Release pair 2023 → 2024
Of 108,072 plans that filed in both 2023 and 2024 with complete participant and asset figures, 87,303 raised reported assets and 51,072 raised reported participants. The largest absolute participant gain was The Tjx Companies, Inc. 401(k) Savings Plan (+176,368). The largest absolute participant decline was Express Employment Professionals 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan (−84,542).
- 108,072
- plans filed in both 2023 and 2024
- 87,303
- plans with higher EOY assets
- 19,907
- plans with lower EOY assets
- 51,072
- plans with more participants
Direction of change among matched plans
Among plans present in both filings with participant counts and end-of-year assets, how many moved up, down, or stayed flat.
| Metric | Up | Down | Unchanged |
|---|---|---|---|
| End-of-year assets | 87,303 | 19,907 | 862 |
| Reported participants | 51,072 | 35,446 | 21,554 |
Largest participant gains
Full list →- +176,368+161.9%
- +125,095+25.8%
- +62,638+39.7%
- +56,060+70.6%
- +49,120+160.8%
Largest participant declines
Full list →- −84,542-15.4%
- #2 The Teamster - UPS National 401(k) Tax Deferred Savings Plan
Board of Trustees of the Teamsters - UPS 401(k) National Savings Plan · GA
−58,385-11.4% - −45,260-58.2%
- −38,883-52%
- −30,620-21%
Largest asset gains
Full list →- +$9.7B
- +$9.3B
- +$8.4B
- +$8.1B
Largest asset declines
Full list →- −$7.0B
- −$5.4B
- −$5.4B
- −$5.2B
- −$4.7B
Filings present in each release file
These are coverage sizes of each plan-year file, not a closed panel. Use the matched-pair section above for plan-level movement.
| Plan year | Plans in file | Participants (sum) | EOY assets (sum) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 146,415 | 90,800,902 | $10.0T |
| 2023 | 133,317 | 92,197,350 | $11.3T |
| 2024 | 122,942 | 89,805,449 | $11.6T |
How to read this release diff
Use the matched-pair tallies for movement; use the year-file table only as coverage context.
- Every movement count uses the same EIN + plan number in both 2023 and 2024. Plans in only one year are excluded from the direction tallies.
- Year-to-year differences in total filings reflect release-file coverage and extensions, not a verified count of plan terminations.
- A higher participant or asset figure can follow hiring, eligibility changes, mergers, investment returns, or reporting revisions. Form 5500 does not name the cause. Methodology
Absolute participant gains and declines on linked rankings require a 10,000 prior-participant floor so ordinary small-plan churn does not dominate national lists.
Site product updates (corrections, features) live on the changelog. Methodology for matching and ranking floors is on methodology.
Every figure on PlainRetire is rendered directly from the Department of Labor's Form 5500 annual return filings, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.