2024 plan-year Industry rank #20 of 21 DOL Form 5500

Public Administration Retirement Plans

97 ERISA-covered retirement plans in the Public Administration industry, holding $3.2B for 64,270 participants per 2024 Form 5500 filings.

$3.2B across 97 plans

According to DOL Form 5500 filings (plan year 2024), the Public Administration industry sponsors 97 ERISA-covered retirement plans holding $3.2B for 64,270 participants, ranking #20 of 21 industries by plan assets, with 89.7% structured as 401(k)s.

  • #20 of 21 industries
  • 89.7% 401(k) plans

The industry in one line

Public Administration sponsors 97 ERISA-covered retirement plans holding $3.2B for 64,270 participants, the 20th-largest industry by plan assets.

$3.2B
total plan assets
97
employer plans
$33M
average plan size
89.7%
of plans are 401(k)s
Plans
97
401(k) Plans
87
89.7% of plans
Total Assets
$3.2B
Participants
64,270

What the Public Administration Industry Plan Filings Show

The Public Administration industry sponsors 97 ERISA-covered retirement plans according to 2024 Form 5500 filings, ranking #20 of 21 industries on PlainRetire by total plan assets. Within the industry, 89.7% of plans are 401(k) defined-contribution arrangements (87 plans), with the remainder split across defined-benefit pension plans, profit-sharing arrangements, ESOPs, and money-purchase plans. The average plan in Public Administration holds $33M in end-of-year assets and covers 663 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 (Public Administration)

Plan Type Plans Participants Total Assets
401(k) 87 62,560 $3.1B
Profit Sharing 2 149 $95M
Other 5 1,425 $34M
Defined Benefit (Pension) 1 89 $23M
ESOP 2 47 $4M

Largest Public Administration Plans by Assets

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

# Plan Sponsor State Type Participants Assets
1 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Investment & Savings Plan PCAOB DC 401(k) 916 $584M
2 Salt River Community Gaming Enterprises 401(k) Plan Salt River Community Gaming Enterprises AZ 401(k) 3,076 $299M
3 Turning Stone Enterprises, LLC 401 (K) Plan Turning Stone Enterprises, LLC NY 401(k) 6,699 $222M
4 Tohono O'odham Gaming Enterprise Retirement Savings Plan Tohono O'odham Gaming Enterprise AZ 401(k) 2,649 $137M
5 Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan MI 401(k) 4,579 $127M
6 Medical Services Group - Department of Medicine Profit Sharing Plan Medical Services Group - Department of Medicine NY Profit Sharing 148 $95M
7 Salt River Materials Group 401(k) Plan Salt River Materials Group AZ 401(k) 431 $89M
8 Valkyrie Enterprises 401(k) Plan Valkyrie Enterprises, LLC VA 401(k) 727 $87M
9 Fhlbank Dallas 401(k) Retirement Plan Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas TX 401(k) 199 $77M
10 Pascua Yaqui Tribe Enterprise 401(k) Plan Pascua Yaqui Tribe AZ 401(k) 1,818 $76M
11 Pala 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan Pala Band of Mission Indians CA 401(k) 1,168 $73M
12 Nez Perce Tribe Employees Retirement Plan Nez Perce Tribe ID 401(k) 1,106 $62M
13 Swinomish Tribal Community Retirement Savings Plan Swinomish Tribal Community WA 401(k) 980 $58M
14 Apco Worldwide LLC 401(k) Plan Apco Worldwide LLC DC 401(k) 438 $54M
15 Pueblo of Sandia Commercial Enterprises 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and Trust Pueblo of Sandia NM 401(k) 1,288 $52M
16 Tachi Yokut Tribe Enterprise 401(k) Plan Tachi Yokut Tribe CA 401(k) 1,346 $51M
17 Sault Tribe 401 (K) Plan Sault Tribe MI 401(k) 1,188 $50M
18 The British Embassy 401(k) Plan The British Embassy DC 401(k) 564 $47M
19 Table Mountain Rancheria 401(k) Plan Table Mountain Rancheria Band of Indians CA 401(k) 1,119 $45M
20 Massachusetts Defined Contribution Core Plan Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the Treasurer & Receiver Gener MA 401(k) 2,021 $45M
21 Oneida Nation Enterprise 401(k) Plan Oneida Nation WI 401(k) 775 $43M
22 Mbci Tribal Government Enterprise 401(k) Plan Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians MS 401(k) 2,439 $41M
23 Community Care of North Carolina, Inc 401(k) Plan Community Care of North Carolina, Inc. NC 401(k) 470 $40M
24 Jamestown S'klallam Tribe 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Jamestown S'klallam Tribe WA 401(k) 404 $35M
25 U.S. Dutch Missions Savings Plan Kingdom of the Netherlands, as Represented by Its Ambassador in the Un DC 401(k) 145 $32M
26 The Colorado River Indian Tribes Retirement Plan and Trust Colorado River Indian Tribes AZ 401(k) 793 $30M
27 White Earth Commercial 401(k) Plan White Earth Reservation Tribal Council MN 401(k) 613 $30M
28 Squaxin Island Tribe and Island Enterprise 401(k) Plan Squaxin Island Tribe WA 401(k) 452 $28M
29 Redding Rancheria Enterprise 401(k) Plan Redding Rancheria CA 401(k) 423 $26M
30 Pueblo of Laguna Commercial Enterprises 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and Trust Pueblo of Laguna NM 401(k) 786 $26M

Nationwide industries with similar retirement plan scale

Two DOL Form 5500-derived peer sets for Public Administration: nearest tracked industries by plan filing count (97 plans here) and nearest by aggregate plan assets ($3.2B 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 Public Administration plans

How many retirement plans are in the Public Administration industry? ▼
Public Administration sponsors 97 ERISA-covered retirement plans according to 2024 Form 5500 filings, including 87 401(k) plans (89.7% of plans in the industry). Total assets across all plans in the industry sum to $3.2B, covering 64,270 participants.
What's the average plan size in the Public Administration industry? ▼
The average Public Administration retirement plan holds $33M in assets and covers 663 participants. This is an arithmetic mean across all 97 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 Public Administration industry? ▼
In Public Administration, the most common plan type by total assets is 401(k) (87 plans, $3.1B in assets). Other common types include: Profit Sharing (2), Other (5), Defined Benefit (Pension) (1).

Related guides

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

Explore from Public Administration

Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

Closest peer by total plan assets ($31.4B, 1,269 plans)
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Investment & Savings Plan

Largest Public Administration plan on file · $584M
401(k)

Dominant type here by assets · 87 plans, $3.1B
All industries

Industry #20 of 21 by total Form 5500 plan assets

What to do with Public Administration plan data

97 plans across the Public Administration 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.