2024 plan-year Industry rank #5 of 21 DOL Form 5500

Construction Retirement Plans

9,435 ERISA-covered retirement plans in the Construction industry, holding $759.7B for 5,636,985 participants per 2024 Form 5500 filings.

$759.7B across 9,435 plans

According to DOL Form 5500 filings (plan year 2024), the Construction industry sponsors 9,435 ERISA-covered retirement plans holding $759.7B for 5,636,985 participants, ranking #5 of 21 industries by plan assets, with 63.6% structured as 401(k)s.

  • #5 of 21 industries
  • 63.6% 401(k) plans

The industry in one line

Construction sponsors 9,435 ERISA-covered retirement plans holding $759.7B for 5,636,985 participants, the 5th-largest industry by plan assets.

$759.7B
total plan assets
9,435
employer plans
$81M
average plan size
63.6%
of plans are 401(k)s
Plans
9,435
401(k) Plans
6,003
63.6% of plans
Total Assets
$759.7B
Participants
5,636,985

What the Construction Industry Plan Filings Show

The Construction industry sponsors 9,435 ERISA-covered retirement plans according to 2024 Form 5500 filings, ranking #5 of 21 industries on PlainRetire by total plan assets. Within the industry, 63.6% of plans are 401(k) defined-contribution arrangements (6,003 plans), with the remainder split across defined-benefit pension plans, profit-sharing arrangements, ESOPs, and money-purchase plans. The average plan in Construction holds $81M in end-of-year assets and covers 597 participants.

Industry-level totals reflect aggregate sponsor disclosures on Form 5500 Schedule H and Schedule I and provide a useful frame for benchmarking individual employer plans. They are not a substitute for plan-specific Summary Plan Description review when evaluating any single plan. Industry classification is self-reported by sponsors based on the primary economic activity of the sponsoring employer. Plans whose sponsor industry has changed across years (mergers, restructurings) carry the most-recent classification on file.

Plan Type Breakdown (Construction)

Plan Type Plans Participants Total Assets
Defined Benefit (Pension) 717 1,710,230 $359.6B
401(k) 6,003 2,232,505 $218.0B
Money Purchase 259 739,563 $68.8B
Profit Sharing 1,321 651,889 $59.4B
ESOP 1,069 172,421 $41.3B
Other 63 129,976 $12.6B
IRA-Based 3 401 $52M

Largest Construction Plans by Assets

Top 30 Construction retirement plans ranked by 2024 end-of-year total assets.

# Plan Sponsor State Type Participants Assets
1 National Electrical Benefit Fund Trustees of the National Electrical Benefit Fund MD Defined Benefit (Pension) 332,362 $20.4B
2 National Electrical Annuity Plan Trustees of the National Electrical Annuity Plan MD Money Purchase 86,141 $18.1B
3 National Elevator Industry Pension Plan National Elevator Industry Pension Plan Plan Board of Trustees PA Defined Benefit (Pension) 28,308 $12.2B
4 Western States Carpenters Pension Plan Joint Board of Trustees Western States Carpenters Pension Plan CA Defined Benefit (Pension) 48,582 $11.3B
5 Sheet Metal Workers' National Pension Fund Bd of Trustees Sheet Metal Workers' National Pension Fund VA Defined Benefit (Pension) 63,530 $8.9B
6 Deferred Salary Plan of the Electrical Industry Board of Trustees of the Deferred Salary Plan of the Electrical Ind NY 401(k) 27,777 $8.0B
7 United Association National Pension Fund B/O/T United Association National Pension Fund VA Defined Benefit (Pension) 88,454 $7.7B
8 Boilermaker-Blacksmith National Pension Trust Board of Trustees Boilermaker-Blacksmith National MO Defined Benefit (Pension) 28,958 $7.5B
9 Elevator Constructors Annuity and 401(k) Retirement Plan Bd of Trustees of the Elev Constu Annuity and 401(k) Ret Plan PA 401(k) 30,239 $7.3B
10 Carpenters Pension Trust Fund for Northern California Carpenters Pension Trust Fund CA Defined Benefit (Pension) 19,919 $6.6B
11 Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council Pension Fund Board of Trustees of Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council Pension F IL Defined Benefit (Pension) 10,902 $6.4B
12 Bechtel Trust & Thrift Plan Bechtel Global Corporation AZ 401(k) 7,971 $6.1B
13 Midwest Operating Engineers Pension Trust Fund Trustees of the Midwest Operating Engineers Pension Trust Fund IL Defined Benefit (Pension) 13,118 $6.0B
14 Laborers Pension Trust Fund for Northern California Board of Trustees Laborers Pension Trust Fund for Northern California CA Defined Benefit (Pension) 21,267 $5.5B
15 New York District Council of Carpenters Pension Pl Board of Trustees of Nycdcc Pension Fund NY Defined Benefit (Pension) 10,590 $5.4B
16 Pension Trust Fund for Operating Engineers Board of Trustees, Pension Trust Fund for Operating CA Defined Benefit (Pension) 20,372 $5.4B
17 Pension, Hospitalization & Benefit Plan of the Electrical Industry - Pension Trust Acct Bd of Tr of the Pension, Hosp & Benefit Pl of the Elec Ind-Pension NY Defined Benefit (Pension) 15,968 $5.3B
18 Chicago & Vicinity Laborers' District Council Pension Plan Bd of Trustees, Chicago & Vicinity Laborers' Distr. Council Pens Fund IL Defined Benefit (Pension) 11,586 $5.2B
19 N. Atlantic States Carp. Pension Fund Bot of the North Atlantic States Carpenters Pension Fund MA Defined Benefit (Pension) 16,946 $5.1B
20 Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Pension Fund Board of Trustees Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Pension Fund PA Defined Benefit (Pension) 12,421 $5.0B
21 National Automatic Sprinkler Industry Pension Fund National Automatic Sprinkler Industry Pension Fund Jt Board of Trustee MD Defined Benefit (Pension) 15,964 $4.8B
22 International Painters and Allied Trades Industry Pension Plan Intl Painters & Allied Trades Ind. Pension Fund- Board of Trustees MD Defined Benefit (Pension) 45,029 $4.5B
23 Ohio Operating Engineers Pension Plan Ohio Operating Engineers Pension Plan OH Defined Benefit (Pension) 10,387 $3.9B
24 Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc. Retirement and Savings Plan Kellogg Brown & Root LLC TX 401(k) 3,665 $3.9B
25 N. Atlantic States Carp. Guaranteed Annuity Fund Bot of the North Atlantic States Carpenters Guaranteed Annuity Fund MA Defined Benefit (Pension) 10,943 $3.8B
26 Operating Engineers Pension Trust Board of Trustees, Operating Engineers Pension Trust CA Defined Benefit (Pension) 13,192 $3.8B
27 New York District Council of Carpenters Annuity Fd Board of Trustees of the Nydcc Annuity Fd NY 401(k) 16,074 $3.7B
28 Construction Laborers Pension Trust Fund for Southern California Board of Trustees,Construction Laborers Pension Trust for Southern Cal CA Defined Benefit (Pension) 23,933 $3.7B
29 Performance Contracting Group, Inc. ESOP/401(k) Plan Performance Contracting Group, Inc. KS 401(k) 1,315 $3.6B
30 Fluor Corporation Employees Savings Investment Plan Fluor Corporation TX 401(k) 7,227 $3.5B

Nationwide industries with similar retirement plan scale

Two DOL Form 5500-derived peer sets for Construction: nearest tracked industries by plan filing count (9,435 plans here) and nearest by aggregate plan assets ($759.7B here). Rows stay link-disjoint so each axis is a distinct neighborhood.

Similar plan count

Nearest other industries by reported employer plan filings.

Similar total assets

Nearest other industries by aggregate end-of-year plan assets (plan-count peers above are excluded).

Questions about Construction plans

How many retirement plans are in the Construction industry? ▼
Construction sponsors 9,435 ERISA-covered retirement plans according to 2024 Form 5500 filings, including 6,003 401(k) plans (63.6% of plans in the industry). Total assets across all plans in the industry sum to $759.7B, covering 5,636,985 participants.
What's the average plan size in the Construction industry? ▼
The average Construction retirement plan holds $81M in assets and covers 597 participants. This is an arithmetic mean across all 9,435 plans in the industry, actual plan sizes vary widely, with a small number of very large plans pulling the average up. See the table above for the largest plans by assets.
Where does this industry data come from? ▼
Industry classification comes from each plan sponsor's Form 5500 filing with the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). Sponsors self-classify into one of approximately 20 industry categories based on the primary economic activity of the sponsoring employer. The category labels follow the DOL plan-sponsor industry taxonomy.
What plan types are most common in the Construction industry? ▼
In Construction, the most common plan type by total assets is Defined Benefit (Pension) (717 plans, $359.6B in assets). Other common types include: 401(k) (6,003), Money Purchase (259), Profit Sharing (1,321).

Related guides

See also these PlainRetire explainers for interpreting Form 5500 industry totals and comparing plans.

Explore from Construction

Information & Media

Closest peer by total plan assets ($647.6B, 2,937 plans)
National Electrical Benefit Fund

Largest Construction plan on file · $20.4B
Defined Benefit (Pension)

Dominant type here by assets · 717 plans, $359.6B
All industries

Industry #5 of 21 by total Form 5500 plan assets

What to do with Construction plan data

9,435 plans across the Construction sector offer a baseline for benchmarking your own plan.

Industry classification is self-reported by plan sponsors on Form 5500. Plans may span multiple sectors.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor EBSA Form 5500 public-disclosure dataset, 2024 plan year. Industry classification self-reported by sponsors.

Reference: IRS Publication 560, Retirement Plans for Small Business.

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. Data current as of 2026-08-25.