2024 plan-year Industry rank #8 of 21 DOL Form 5500

Retail Trade Retirement Plans

8,594 ERISA-covered retirement plans in the Retail Trade industry, holding $564.5B for 12,306,541 participants per 2024 Form 5500 filings.

$564.5B across 8,594 plans

According to DOL Form 5500 filings (plan year 2024), the Retail Trade industry sponsors 8,594 ERISA-covered retirement plans holding $564.5B for 12,306,541 participants, ranking #8 of 21 industries by plan assets, with 78.9% structured as 401(k)s.

  • #8 of 21 industries
  • 78.9% 401(k) plans

The industry in one line

Retail Trade sponsors 8,594 ERISA-covered retirement plans holding $564.5B for 12,306,541 participants, the 8th-largest industry by plan assets.

$564.5B
total plan assets
8,594
employer plans
$66M
average plan size
78.9%
of plans are 401(k)s
Plans
8,594
401(k) Plans
6,784
78.9% of plans
Total Assets
$564.5B
Participants
12,306,541

What the Retail Trade Industry Plan Filings Show

The Retail Trade industry sponsors 8,594 ERISA-covered retirement plans according to 2024 Form 5500 filings, ranking #8 of 21 industries on PlainRetire by total plan assets. Within the industry, 78.9% of plans are 401(k) defined-contribution arrangements (6,784 plans), with the remainder split across defined-benefit pension plans, profit-sharing arrangements, ESOPs, and money-purchase plans. The average plan in Retail Trade holds $66M in end-of-year assets and covers 1,432 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 (Retail Trade)

Plan Type Plans Participants Total Assets
401(k) 6,784 10,856,961 $454.8B
Defined Benefit (Pension) 188 885,637 $63.2B
ESOP 323 336,192 $39.8B
Profit Sharing 1,239 176,810 $6.0B
Money Purchase 30 33,141 $429M
Other 30 17,800 $374M

Largest Retail Trade Plans by Assets

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

# Plan Sponsor State Type Participants Assets
1 Walmart 401(k) Plan Walmart Inc. AR 401(k) 1,635,899 $50.8B
2 Costco 401(k) Retirement Plan Costco Wholesale Corporation WA 401(k) 202,468 $41.0B
3 CVS Health Future Fund 401(k) Plan CVS Health Corporation RI 401(k) 240,493 $30.1B
4 Walgreens Retirement Savings Plan Walgreen Co. IL 401(k) 233,635 $14.5B
5 Target Corporation 401(k) Plan Target Corporation MN 401(k) 409,649 $14.4B
6 Publix Super Markets, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan & Trust Publix Super Markets, Inc. FL ESOP 149,213 $14.3B
7 The Home Depot Futurebuilder The Home Depot, Inc. GA 401(k) 398,464 $14.1B
8 The Kroger Co. 401(k) Retirement Savings Account Plan The Kroger Co. OH 401(k) 135,373 $11.8B
9 Lowes 401(k) Plan Lowe's Companies, Inc. NC 401(k) 280,261 $8.6B
10 United Food & Commercial Workers Intl Union - Industry Pension Fund Trustees of Ufcw Int'l Union - Industry Pension Fund IL Defined Benefit (Pension) 20,984 $8.2B
11 Sap America, Inc. 401(k) Plan Sap America, Inc. PA 401(k) 18,420 $8.1B
12 Publix Super Markets, Inc. 401(k) Smart Plan Publix Super Markets, Inc. FL 401(k) 197,102 $8.1B
13 Albertsons Companies 401(k) Plan Albertsons Companies, Inc. CA 401(k) 201,289 $8.0B
14 Southern California Ufcw Unions and Food Employers Joint Pension Trust Fund Board of Trustees, So Ca Ufcw Unions & Food Employers CA Defined Benefit (Pension) 54,456 $6.5B
15 Ufcw Consolidated Pension Fund Bd of Trustees Ufcw Consolidated Pension Fund GA Defined Benefit (Pension) 184,887 $5.6B
16 Wawa, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan Wawa, Inc. PA ESOP 37,745 $5.5B
17 Winco Employee Stock Ownership Plan Winco Holdings, Inc. ID ESOP 17,054 $5.0B
18 Starbucks Corporation 401(k) Plan Starbucks Corporation WA 401(k) 231,064 $4.9B
19 Quiktrip Corporation Retirement Plan Quiktrip Corporation OK 401(k) 13,369 $4.8B
20 Macys Inc 401(k) Retirement Investment Plan Macys, Inc. OH 401(k) 109,553 $4.6B
21 H-E-B Savings & Retirement Plan H.E.Butt Grocery Company TX 401(k) 104,613 $4.3B
22 Nordstrom 401(k) Plan Nordstrom, Inc. WA 401(k) 58,225 $4.3B
23 The Tjx Companies, Inc. 401(k) Savings Plan The Tjx Companies, Inc. MA 401(k) 285,277 $3.7B
24 The Wegmans Retirement Plans Wegmans Food Markets Inc. NY 401(k) 42,027 $3.4B
25 Target Corporation Pension Plan Target Corporation MN Defined Benefit (Pension) 41,726 $3.3B
26 The Rite Aid 401(k) Plan Rite Aid Corporation PA 401(k) 28,313 $3.2B
27 Trader Joe's Company Retirement Plan Trader Joe's Company CA 401(k) 63,666 $3.2B
28 Best Buy Retirement Savings Plan Best Buy Enterprise Services, Inc. MN 401(k) 85,980 $3.1B
29 The Hy-Vee and Affiliates 401(k) Plan Hy-Vee, Inc. IA 401(k) 55,411 $3.1B
30 Dillard's, Inc. Investment & Employee Stock Ownership Plan Dillard's, Inc. AR 401(k) 30,070 $3.0B

Nationwide industries with similar retirement plan scale

Two DOL Form 5500-derived peer sets for Retail Trade: nearest tracked industries by plan filing count (8,594 plans here) and nearest by aggregate plan assets ($564.5B 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 Retail Trade plans

How many retirement plans are in the Retail Trade industry? ▼
Retail Trade sponsors 8,594 ERISA-covered retirement plans according to 2024 Form 5500 filings, including 6,784 401(k) plans (78.9% of plans in the industry). Total assets across all plans in the industry sum to $564.5B, covering 12,306,541 participants.
What's the average plan size in the Retail Trade industry? ▼
The average Retail Trade retirement plan holds $66M in assets and covers 1,432 participants. This is an arithmetic mean across all 8,594 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 Retail Trade industry? ▼
In Retail Trade, the most common plan type by total assets is 401(k) (6,784 plans, $454.8B in assets). Other common types include: Defined Benefit (Pension) (188), ESOP (323), Profit Sharing (1,239).

Related guides

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

Explore from Retail Trade

Transportation & Warehousing

Closest peer by total plan assets ($625.8B, 3,472 plans)
Walmart 401(k) Plan

Largest Retail Trade plan on file · $50.8B
401(k)

Dominant type here by assets · 6,784 plans, $454.8B
All industries

Industry #8 of 21 by total Form 5500 plan assets

What to do with Retail Trade plan data

8,594 plans across the Retail Trade 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.