2024 plan-year Industry rank #11 of 21 DOL Form 5500

Utilities Retirement Plans

775 ERISA-covered retirement plans in the Utilities industry, holding $416.1B for 1,176,593 participants per 2024 Form 5500 filings.

$416.1B across 775 plans

According to DOL Form 5500 filings (plan year 2024), the Utilities industry sponsors 775 ERISA-covered retirement plans holding $416.1B for 1,176,593 participants, ranking #11 of 21 industries by plan assets, with 67.5% structured as 401(k)s.

  • #11 of 21 industries
  • 67.5% 401(k) plans

The industry in one line

Utilities sponsors 775 ERISA-covered retirement plans holding $416.1B for 1,176,593 participants, the 11th-largest industry by plan assets.

$416.1B
total plan assets
775
employer plans
$537M
average plan size
67.5%
of plans are 401(k)s
Plans
775
401(k) Plans
523
67.5% of plans
Total Assets
$416.1B
Participants
1,176,593

What the Utilities Industry Plan Filings Show

The Utilities industry sponsors 775 ERISA-covered retirement plans according to 2024 Form 5500 filings, ranking #11 of 21 industries on PlainRetire by total plan assets. Within the industry, 67.5% of plans are 401(k) defined-contribution arrangements (523 plans), with the remainder split across defined-benefit pension plans, profit-sharing arrangements, ESOPs, and money-purchase plans. The average plan in Utilities holds $537M in end-of-year assets and covers 1,518 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 (Utilities)

Plan Type Plans Participants Total Assets
401(k) 523 778,660 $223.3B
Defined Benefit (Pension) 201 382,016 $190.3B
Money Purchase 8 9,420 $2.0B
ESOP 19 2,257 $321M
Profit Sharing 15 3,065 $100M
Other 9 1,175 $35M

Largest Utilities Plans by Assets

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

# Plan Sponsor State Type Participants Assets
1 Pacific Gas and Electric Company Retirement Plan Pacific Gas and Electric Company CA Defined Benefit (Pension) 27,500 $17.6B
2 401(k) Pension Plan National Rural Electric Cooperative Association VA 401(k) 62,869 $16.8B
3 Consolidated Edison Retirement Plan Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. NY Defined Benefit (Pension) 10,608 $15.6B
4 The Southern Company Pension Plan Southern Company Services, Inc. GA Defined Benefit (Pension) 25,843 $15.3B
5 Retirement Security Plan National Rural Electric Cooperative Association VA Defined Benefit (Pension) 56,633 $11.5B
6 Duke Energy Retirement Savings Plan Duke Energy Corporation NC 401(k) 27,341 $11.3B
7 The Southern Company Employee Savings Plan Southern Company Services, Inc. GA 401(k) 27,802 $9.3B
8 Dominion Energy Pension Plan Dominion Energy, Inc. VA Defined Benefit (Pension) 11,758 $8.3B
9 Firstenergy Corp. Master Pension Plan Firstenergy Corp. OH Defined Benefit (Pension) 12,187 $6.5B
10 National Grid USA Co. Incentive Thrift Plan National Grid USA Service Company, Inc. NY 401(k) 17,179 $6.4B
11 Edison 401(k) Savings Plan Southern California Edison Company CA 401(k) 14,119 $6.4B
12 The Consolidated Edison Thrift Savings Plan Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. NY 401(k) 14,092 $6.4B
13 Exelon Corporation Employee Savings Plan Exelon Corporation IL 401(k) 20,282 $6.3B
14 Exelon Corporation Retirement Program Exelon Corporation IL Defined Benefit (Pension) 8,898 $6.1B
15 Constellation Employee Savings Plan Constellation Energy Generation LLC PA 401(k) 13,918 $6.0B
16 Eversource Pension Plan Eversource Energy Service Company CT Defined Benefit (Pension) 3,428 $5.8B
17 Nextera Energy, Inc. Employee Retirement Savings Plan Nextera Energy, Inc. FL 401(k) 16,678 $5.5B
18 Nextera Energy, Inc. Employee Pension Plan Nextera Energy, Inc. FL Defined Benefit (Pension) 14,419 $5.3B
19 Aep Retirement Savings 401(k) Plan American Electric Power Service Corporation OH 401(k) 17,531 $5.2B
20 Constellation Retirement Program Constellation Energy Generation LLC PA Defined Benefit (Pension) 4,809 $5.0B
21 Pg&e Corp. Retirement Savings Plan for Union-Represented Employees Pg&e Corporation CA 401(k) 17,143 $5.0B
22 Pg&e Corporation Retirement Savings Plan Pg&e Corporation CA 401(k) 10,231 $4.9B
23 Ameren Retirement Plan Ameren Corporation MO Defined Benefit (Pension) 9,760 $4.8B
24 The Southern California Edison Company Retirement Plan Southern California Edison Company CA Defined Benefit (Pension) 9,333 $4.7B
25 Duke Energy Retirement Cash Balance Plan Duke Energy Corporation NC Defined Benefit (Pension) 13,576 $4.7B
26 Dominion Energy 401(k) Plan Dominion Energy, Inc. VA 401(k) 14,237 $4.4B
27 Savings Plan of Entergy Corporation and Subsidiaries Entergy Corporation LA 401(k) 9,655 $4.4B
28 American Electric Power System Retirement Plan American Electric Power Service Corporation OH Defined Benefit (Pension) 16,073 $4.1B
29 Eversource 401(k) Plan Eversource Energy Service Company CT 401(k) 10,041 $4.0B
30 Siemens Energy, Inc. Savings Plan Siemens Energy, Inc. FL 401(k) 10,564 $4.0B

Nationwide industries with similar retirement plan scale

Two DOL Form 5500-derived peer sets for Utilities: nearest tracked industries by plan filing count (775 plans here) and nearest by aggregate plan assets ($416.1B 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 Utilities plans

How many retirement plans are in the Utilities industry? ▼
Utilities sponsors 775 ERISA-covered retirement plans according to 2024 Form 5500 filings, including 523 401(k) plans (67.5% of plans in the industry). Total assets across all plans in the industry sum to $416.1B, covering 1,176,593 participants.
What's the average plan size in the Utilities industry? ▼
The average Utilities retirement plan holds $537M in assets and covers 1,518 participants. This is an arithmetic mean across all 775 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 Utilities industry? ▼
In Utilities, the most common plan type by total assets is 401(k) (523 plans, $223.3B in assets). Other common types include: Defined Benefit (Pension) (201), Money Purchase (8), ESOP (19).

Related guides

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

Explore from Utilities

Educational Services

Closest peer by total plan assets ($451.4B, 3,899 plans)
Pacific Gas and Electric Company Retirement Plan

Largest Utilities plan on file · $17.6B
401(k)

Dominant type here by assets · 523 plans, $223.3B
All industries

Industry #11 of 21 by total Form 5500 plan assets

What to do with Utilities plan data

775 plans across the Utilities 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.