401(k) · DOL Form 5500 · 2022
Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan
Data updated 2026-08-25
- $8.0B
- Total assets Very large vs avg
- 50,590
- Participants Very large workforce
- 100th
- Percentile by assets National rank
- $158,005
- Avg per participant Above avg balance/head
Official DOL plan name: Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan · Sponsored by Southwest Airlines Co. · Texas · Transportation & Warehousing
$8.0B in assets, 50,590 participants
Southwest Airlines Co.'s Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan reported $8.0B in total assets and 50,590 participants in its 2022 DOL Form 5500 filing, ranking in the 100th percentile by assets among filed plans. Figures are as reported by the plan sponsor to the Department of Labor, not audited or endorsed by PlainRetire.
- #3,863 in Transportation & Warehousing (3,876 peers)
Coverage in Texas
Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan covers 50,590 participants in Texas, 74x the typical Texas plan (state average ~688 per filing). Assets: $8.0B.
- #3,863
- in Transportation & Warehousing (3,876 peers)
- -17.1%
- assets change YoY
- 80×
- vs typical plan assets (national mean)
The plan reported a net loss of $1.6B for the year, a single-year figure driven by markets and benefit payments, not a measure of plan health.
Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan's outsized position by total assets
Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan vs every filed plan by assets
End-of-year total assets · plan year 2022 · DOL Form 5500
$7,993,494,287 Highest reported value at or above every one of 139,123 filed plans
Dashed line + filled bar = this entry, among filed plans.
Source U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 filings (EBSA) · plan year 2022
Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan's mega-plan peer group by participant headcount
Plan-year 2022 Form 5500 filings with a reported participant count, partitioned by headcount band, not by assets. Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan is a mega filing (50,590 participants), the rightmost band on the breakdown.
DOL schedule card
Filing strip 741563240 · Southwest Airlines Co. PY 2022 · 401(k)
Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan · $8.0B · 50,590 · 100th
- ASSETS $8.0B
- ASSETS 50,590
- ASSETS 100th
- ASSETS 401(k)
- ASSETS near McKinsey & Company, Inc. (Psrp) Profit Sharing Retirement Plan
- ASSETS ind #3863
Stamps derive from this plan's Form 5500 line items (assets, participants, type, EIN, cohort placement) - not a quality rating of the sponsor. Read with Transportation & Warehousing retirement plans → · Plans in Texas →
Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan in the asset neighbourhood
Texas filing particulars
| Total Assets (Beginning of Year) | $9.6B |
|---|---|
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $8.0B |
| Net Income | -$1.6B |
| Employer EIN | 741563240 |
| Plan Effective Date | 1991-01-01 |
| Filing Status | FILING RECEIVED |
Sponsor Plan History (Southwest Airlines Co.)
Sponsor-wide plan assets over time
All Southwest Airlines Co. plans reported in each filing year
- Latest sponsor-wide plan assets
- $28.7B 37.33380234491332% vs 2022
- 2024 filing year
| Year | Plans | Participants | Total Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3 | 120,230 | $20.9B |
| 2023 | 3 | 141,844 | $24.8B |
| 2024 | 4 | 168,461 | $28.7B |
Nearby 401(k) Plans in Texas
Peer 401(k) plans, same state, same plan type, ranked by total assets.
- AT&T Retirement Savings Plan $37.6B · 144,503
- Exxonmobil Savings Plan $21.3B · 23,619
- Caterpillar 401(k) Savings Plan $13.8B · 38,538
- American Airlines, Inc. 401(k) Plan $12.8B · 85,577
- Dell Inc. 401(k) Plan $12.0B · 47,532
Scale composition for Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan
Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan reports $8.0B in end-of-year assets across 50,590 participants (0.065% of the $12.3T held by all Form 5500 filers in the national rollup , and 0.054% of 93,925,755 covered participants) - about $158,005 per participant (1.1x the national average assets-per-participant) . Net income for plan year 2022 was -$1.6B.
This plan identity (EIN 741563240, plan #004) has 3 Form 5500 filings on file from 2022 to 2024 , with end-of-year assets moving from $8.0B to $17.0B (+112.6%) while covered participants moved from 50,590 to 67,820 . Single-year sparse filers cannot show that trail.
| Plan year | Participants | EOY assets | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 50,590 | $8.0B | This page |
| 2023 | 60,657 | $9.9B | Open filing |
| 2024 · index core | 67,820 | $17.0B | Open filing |
The same sponsor also keeps 3 other index-core plans on PlainRetire:
- Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan (401(k), $17.0B, 67,820 participants)
- Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan (401(k), $11.6B, 11,242 participants)
- Southwest Airlines Market-Based Cash Balance Plan (Defined Benefit (Pension), $41M, 9,612 participants)
Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan's out-of-state 401(k) peers by assets and headcount
Outside Texas, the nearest 401(k) by assets is McKinsey & Company, Inc. (Psrp) Profit Sharing Retirement Plan in NY ($8.0B); by covered participants it is Banner Health Employees 401(k) Plan in AZ (50,602 participants). Same-state nearby plans are listed separately above.
Closest by plan assets
Nearest other-state filings by tot_assets_eoy ($8.0B here).
- McKinsey & Company, Inc. (Psrp) Profit Sharing Retirement Plan (NY) $8.0B · 14,349
- The Travelers 401(k) Savings Plan (MN) $8.0B · 27,710
- The Vanguard Retirement and Savings Plan (PA) $8.1B · 17,073
- The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. Incentive Savings Plan (PA) $8.1B · 59,451
Similar participant headcount
Nearest other-state filings by covered participants (50,590 participants); asset peers above are excluded.
- Banner Health Employees 401(k) Plan (AZ) 50,602 · 12 off
- Trader Joe's Company Retirement Plan (CA) 50,462 · 128 off
- Savings Plan for Employees and Partners of Pricewatercoopers LLP (FL) 50,354 · 236 off
- Tcs 401(k) Plan (NJ) 50,322 · 268 off
DOL Form 5500 plan year 2022. Asset totals can differ widely at the same headcount; neither axis is a quality rating.