Retirement Plan Guide
How to Read a Form 5500
Every employer-sponsored retirement plan with 100 or more participants must file Form 5500 with the U.S. Department of Labor annually. Here's what it tells you.
What Is Form 5500?
Form 5500 is an annual compliance report that retirement plan administrators file with the DOL Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). It's the primary public disclosure tool for employer retirement plans, including 401(k), defined benefit pensions, profit-sharing plans, and ESOPs.
Small plans (under 100 participants) file the simplified Form 5500-SF. Plans under 25 participants may be exempt.
Key Sections of Form 5500
Basic Plan Information (Part II)
Identifies the plan name, sponsor (employer), plan type, plan number, and effective date. The plan number is a 3-digit code assigned by the employer, most employers assign 401(k) plans number 001.
Total Participants
Reports active participants at the beginning of the plan year (TOT_ACT_PARTCP_BOY_CNT). This tells you how many employees are currently enrolled in the plan, not just eligible.
Schedule H: Financial Information
The most important section. Schedule H (for large plans) discloses:
- Total assets at end of year - the plan's total value
- Net assets - assets minus liabilities
- Net income - investment gains/losses for the year
Red Flags to Watch For
- Declining assets year-over-year - may indicate poor investment choices or employer financial trouble
- Late filing - Form 5500 is due 7 months after plan year end; late filings incur DOL penalties
- Amended filings - multiple amendments can signal accounting problems
- Funded status below 80% (defined benefit plans) - plans below 80% funded trigger benefit restrictions
How to Find Your Employer's Form 5500
Search PlainRetire's plan database to find your employer's Form 5500 data. You can also search the DOL's EFAST2 portal directly for complete filings including all schedules.
Related Resources
Worked example: extracting cost from a Form 5500
A mid-sized employer's Form 5500 reports $42 million in plan assets, $387,000 in administrative expenses, and $215,000 in investment-related expenses. Total expenses of $602,000 ÷ $42,000,000 = 1.43% - slightly above the 1.0% median for plans of similar size reported in the Department of Labor's most recent administrative-expense study. For a participant with $250,000 in the plan, that 0.43-percentage-point excess translates to roughly ,075/year in higher expenses, or about $32,250 over a 30-year accumulation period when compounding is included. The expense disclosure is the single most actionable number on the form for individual participants because it is comparable across plans.
Form 5500 schedules, what each one reveals
| Schedule | Disclosure focus | Diagnostic weight |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule H | Financial information for plans with 100+ participants | 30% |
| Schedule I | Financial information for small plans | 15% |
| Schedule R | Distributions and funding for retirement plans | 15% |
| Schedule SB | Single-employer DB plan actuarial information | 15% |
| Schedule MB | Multiemployer DB plan actuarial information | 10% |
| Schedule C | Service provider compensation disclosure | 10% |
| Schedule G | Financial transactions of concern | 5% |
Form 5500 is the only public document that makes plan-level expenses, asset levels, and funding ratios directly comparable across employers, and it is freely available on EFAST2.
Five lines to check first on any 5500
Form 5500 runs dozens of pages once schedules are attached, but five line items disclose most of the useful diagnostic information. First, the participant count (Part I, line 6) tells whether the plan is filing as small or large. Second, total plan assets at the beginning and end of year (Schedule H Part I or Schedule I) show whether the plan is growing or shrinking. Third, total administrative expenses (Schedule H Part II line 2(i) or comparable on Schedule I) divided by average assets reveals the all-in expense ratio. Fourth, the funded-status disclosure on Schedule SB or MB for defined-benefit plans shows whether the plan has enough assets to pay promised benefits, a funded ratio below 80% is a regulatory threshold that triggers additional restrictions and is reportable on the Pension Benefit Statement. Fifth, the auditor's report attached for large plans flags any unresolved compliance issues. Reading these five lines takes about 15 minutes per plan and provides more diagnostic insight than most quarterly statements.