2024 plan-year Industry rank #12 of 21 DOL Form 5500

Wholesale Trade Retirement Plans

6,322 ERISA-covered retirement plans in the Wholesale Trade industry, holding $360.9B for 2,943,122 participants per 2024 Form 5500 filings.

$360.9B across 6,322 plans

According to DOL Form 5500 filings (plan year 2024), the Wholesale Trade industry sponsors 6,322 ERISA-covered retirement plans holding $360.9B for 2,943,122 participants, ranking #12 of 21 industries by plan assets, with 78.4% structured as 401(k)s.

  • #12 of 21 industries
  • 78.4% 401(k) plans

The industry in one line

Wholesale Trade sponsors 6,322 ERISA-covered retirement plans holding $360.9B for 2,943,122 participants, the 12th-largest industry by plan assets.

$360.9B
total plan assets
6,322
employer plans
$57M
average plan size
78.4%
of plans are 401(k)s
Plans
6,322
401(k) Plans
4,954
78.4% of plans
Total Assets
$360.9B
Participants
2,943,122

What the Wholesale Trade Industry Plan Filings Show

The Wholesale Trade industry sponsors 6,322 ERISA-covered retirement plans according to 2024 Form 5500 filings, ranking #12 of 21 industries on PlainRetire by total plan assets. Within the industry, 78.4% of plans are 401(k) defined-contribution arrangements (4,954 plans), with the remainder split across defined-benefit pension plans, profit-sharing arrangements, ESOPs, and money-purchase plans. The average plan in Wholesale Trade holds $57M in end-of-year assets and covers 466 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 (Wholesale Trade)

Plan Type Plans Participants Total Assets
401(k) 4,954 2,676,106 $291.8B
Defined Benefit (Pension) 254 105,433 $32.3B
ESOP 523 84,094 $25.3B
Profit Sharing 545 69,730 $10.9B
Money Purchase 32 5,729 $407M
Other 13 2,028 $97M
IRA-Based 1 2 $1M

Largest Wholesale Trade Plans by Assets

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

# Plan Sponsor State Type Participants Assets
1 Toyota Motor North America, Inc. Retirement Savings Plan Toyota Motor North America, Inc TX 401(k) 43,916 $13.3B
2 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 401(k) Retirement Plan Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. PA 401(k) 36,150 $10.3B
3 The Cargill Partnership Plan Cargill, Incorporated MN 401(k) 29,292 $8.9B
4 401(k) Savings and Profit Sharing Plan for Employees of Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. OR 401(k) 37,293 $5.9B
5 McKesson Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan McKesson Corporation TX 401(k) 25,981 $5.7B
6 Sysco Corporation Employees' 401(k) Plan Sysco Corporation TX 401(k) 44,285 $5.3B
7 Cardinal Health 401(k) Savings Plan Cardinal Health, Inc. OH 401(k) 31,275 $4.8B
8 Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.a., Inc. Pension Plan Toyota Motor North America, Inc. TX Defined Benefit (Pension) 5,129 $4.6B
9 Bosch Savings Incentive Plan Robert Bosch LLC IL 401(k) 14,888 $4.6B
10 W. W. Grainger, Inc. Retirement Savings Plan W.W. Grainger, Inc. IL Profit Sharing 18,584 $3.8B
11 Ferguson Enterprises, LLC, 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan Ferguson Enterprises, LLC VA 401(k) 30,859 $3.6B
12 Mcmaster-Carr Supply Company Profit Sharing Trust Mcmaster-Carr Supply Company IL Profit Sharing 4,364 $3.0B
13 Unfi 401(k) Plan United Natural Foods, Inc RI 401(k) 26,416 $2.8B
14 Gordon Food Service, Inc. Profit Sharing Plan Gordon Food Service, Inc. MI 401(k) 13,884 $2.8B
15 Canon Employee Savings and Retirement Plan Canon U.S.a., Inc. NY 401(k) 7,400 $2.7B
16 Genuine Parts Company 401(k) Savings Plan Genuine Parts Company GA 401(k) 29,481 $2.5B
17 US Foods 401(k) Plan US Foods, Inc. IL 401(k) 27,135 $2.5B
18 Sysco Corporation Retirement Plan Sysco Corporation TX Defined Benefit (Pension) 9,955 $2.5B
19 Bmw Savings Plan Bmw of North America, LLC NJ 401(k) 12,934 $2.3B
20 Ricoh USA, Inc. Retirement Savings Plan Ricoh USA, Inc. PA 401(k) 12,644 $2.2B
21 Kehe Distributors, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan Kehe Distributors, Inc. IL ESOP 4,815 $2.2B
22 Cencora Employee Investment Plan Cencora, Inc. PA 401(k) 17,175 $2.1B
23 Southern Glazer's 401(k) Plan Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits, LLC FL 401(k) 18,867 $2.1B
24 Business Performance Savings Plan of Hallmark Cards, Incorporated Hallmark Cards, Inc. MO 401(k) 5,031 $2.0B
25 Cargill, Inc. and Associated Companies Salaried Employees Pension Plan Cargill, Incorporated MN Defined Benefit (Pension) 3,346 $2.0B
26 Genuine Parts Company Pension Plan Genuine Parts Company GA Defined Benefit (Pension) 4,225 $2.0B
27 The Profit Sharing and Savings Plan of Graybar Electric Company, Inc. Graybar Electric Company, Inc. MO 401(k) 8,193 $2.0B
28 Wesco Distribution, Inc. Retirement Savings Plan Wesco Distribution, Inc. PA 401(k) 13,161 $1.9B
29 Performance Food Group Employee Savings Plan Performance Food Group, Inc. VA 401(k) 33,981 $1.9B
30 Chs Inc. 401(k) Plan Chs, Inc. MN 401(k) 8,589 $1.8B

Nationwide industries with similar retirement plan scale

Two DOL Form 5500-derived peer sets for Wholesale Trade: nearest tracked industries by plan filing count (6,322 plans here) and nearest by aggregate plan assets ($360.9B 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 Wholesale Trade plans

How many retirement plans are in the Wholesale Trade industry? ▼
Wholesale Trade sponsors 6,322 ERISA-covered retirement plans according to 2024 Form 5500 filings, including 4,954 401(k) plans (78.4% of plans in the industry). Total assets across all plans in the industry sum to $360.9B, covering 2,943,122 participants.
What's the average plan size in the Wholesale Trade industry? ▼
The average Wholesale Trade retirement plan holds $57M in assets and covers 466 participants. This is an arithmetic mean across all 6,322 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 Wholesale Trade industry? ▼
In Wholesale Trade, the most common plan type by total assets is 401(k) (4,954 plans, $291.8B in assets). Other common types include: Defined Benefit (Pension) (254), ESOP (523), Profit Sharing (545).

Related guides

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

Explore from Wholesale Trade

Utilities

Closest peer by total plan assets ($416.1B, 775 plans)
Toyota Motor North America, Inc. Retirement Savings Plan

Largest Wholesale Trade plan on file · $13.3B
401(k)

Dominant type here by assets · 4,954 plans, $291.8B
All industries

Industry #12 of 21 by total Form 5500 plan assets

What to do with Wholesale Trade plan data

6,322 plans across the Wholesale 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.