Defined Benefit (Pension) · DOL Form 5500 · 2022

Northwestern Mutual Life Ins.Co. Pension Plan

Data updated 2026-08-25

$3.1B
Total assets Very large vs avg
7,377
Participants Very large workforce
100th
Percentile by assets National rank
$416,729
Avg per participant High balance/head
PlainRetire home → About this data RSS: change history

Official DOL plan name: The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan · Sponsored by Northwestern Mutual Life Ins.Co. · Wisconsin · Finance & Insurance

$3.1B in assets, 7,377 participants

Northwestern Mutual Life Ins.Co.'s The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan reported $3.1B in total assets and 7,377 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.

  • #9,183 in Finance & Insurance (9,261 peers)

Coverage in Wisconsin

The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan covers 7,377 participants in Wisconsin, 13x the typical Wisconsin plan (state average ~563 per filing). Assets: $3.1B.

#9,183
in Finance & Insurance (9,261 peers)
-23.9%
assets change YoY
31×
vs typical plan assets (national mean)

The plan reported a net loss of $942M for the year, a single-year figure driven by markets and benefit payments, not a measure of plan health.

The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan's outsized position by total assets

The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan vs every filed plan by assets

End-of-year total assets · plan year 2022 · DOL Form 5500

$3,074,208,374 Highest reported value at or above every one of 139,123 filed plans

This plan $0 $2,050,000,000 every filed plan with reported assets, bucketed by value

Dashed line + filled bar = this entry, among filed plans.

Source U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 filings (EBSA) · plan year 2022

The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan's large-plan peer group by participant headcount

Plan-year 2022 Form 5500 filings with a reported participant count, partitioned by headcount band, not by assets. The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan lands in the large band (7,377 participants).

Form 5500 schedule snapshot

Filing strip 390509570 · Northwestern Mutual Life Ins.Co. PY 2022 · Defined Benefit (Pension)

The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan · $3.1B · 7,377 · 100th

  • BOOK $3.1B
  • VS-ST 7,377
  • BOY 100th
  • SCH Defined Benefit (Pension)
  • EBSA near United Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension Plan
  • PART ind #9183

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 Finance & Insurance retirement plans → · Plans in Wisconsin →

The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan in the asset neighbourhood

Nylic Retirement Plan$3.1BNew York State Teamsters Conference Pension & Retirement FundNew York State Teamsters Con…$3.1BThe Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement PlanThe Northwestern Mutual Empl…$3.1BUnited Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension PlanUnited Mine Workers of Ameri…$3.1BConsolidated Roche Retirement PlanConsolidated Roche Retiremen…$3.0B
End-of-year total assets ($B) among The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan and nearest nationwide Defined Benefit (Pension) peers. Source: DOL Form 5500 plan year 2022.

Wisconsin filing particulars

Total Assets (Beginning of Year)$4.0B
Net Assets (End of Year)$3.1B
Net Income-$942M
Employer EIN390509570
Plan Effective Date1947-01-01
Filing StatusFILING RECEIVED

Sponsor Plan History (Northwestern Mutual Life Ins.Co.)

Sponsor-wide plan assets over time

All Northwestern Mutual Life Ins.Co. plans reported in each filing year

Latest sponsor-wide plan assets
$9.6B 12.691710490574781% vs 2022
2024 filing year
$8B$8.5B$9B$9.5B$10B 202220232024 $8.56B $9.65B ▲ +12.7%
Year Plans Participants Total Assets
2022 4 27,987 $8.6B
2023 4 29,929 $9.3B
2024 4 30,138 $9.6B

Nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) Plans in Wisconsin

Peer Defined Benefit (Pension) plans, same state, same plan type, ranked by total assets.

The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan vs. nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in Wisconsin, assets vs. participants Scatter plot of 6 data points. -5000050001000015000 1.522.533.5 Total assets ($B) Participants The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan, Total assets ($B): 3.074208374 · Participants: 7377The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement PlanBuilding Trades United Pension Trust Fund Milwaukee and Vicinity, Total assets ($B): 2.951985172 · Participants: 9724Building Trades United Pension Trust Fund Milwaukee and VicinityRockwell Automation Pension Plan, Total assets ($B): 2.144532065 · Participants: 3077Rockwell Automation Pension PlanThe Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company Agents Retirement Plan, Total assets ($B): 1.927367772 · Participants: 7278The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company Agents Retirement PlanHarley-Davidson Retirement Plan, Total assets ($B): 1.826706645 · Participants: 1744Harley-Davidson Retirement PlanJohnson Controls Pension Plan, Total assets ($B): 1.652226383 · Participants: 28Johnson Controls Pension Plan
The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan vs. nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in Wisconsin, assets vs. participants

Scale composition for The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan

The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan reports $3.1B in end-of-year assets across 7,377 participants (0.025% of the $12.3T held by all Form 5500 filers in the national rollup , and 0.008% of 93,925,755 covered participants) - about $416,729 per participant (3.0x the national average assets-per-participant) . Net income for plan year 2022 was -$942M.

This plan identity (EIN 390509570, plan #003) has 3 Form 5500 filings on file from 2022 to 2024 , with end-of-year assets moving from $3.1B to $3.3B (+5.9%) while covered participants moved from 7,377 to 8,254 . Single-year sparse filers cannot show that trail.

Plan year Participants EOY assets Filing
2022 7,377 $3.1B This page
2023 8,348 $3.3B Open filing
2024 · index core 8,254 $3.3B Open filing

The same sponsor also keeps 4 other index-core plans on PlainRetire:

The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan's out-of-state Defined Benefit (Pension) peers by assets and headcount

Outside Wisconsin, the nearest Defined Benefit (Pension) by assets is United Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension Plan in DC ($3.1B); by covered participants it is Hotel Union and Hotel Industry of Hawaii Pension Plan in HI (7,370 participants). Same-state nearby plans are listed separately above.

Closest by plan assets

Nearest other-state filings by tot_assets_eoy ($3.1B here).

Similar participant headcount

Nearest other-state filings by covered participants (7,377 participants); asset peers above are excluded.

DOL Form 5500 plan year 2022. Asset totals can differ widely at the same headcount; neither axis is a quality rating.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan assets move in 2022?
The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan declined sharply - down 23.9% during 2022, from $4.0B to $3.1B. Reported net income was -$942M.
How have Northwestern Mutual Life Ins.Co. plan assets changed over time?
Across 3 plan years on file (2022-2024), Northwestern Mutual Life Ins.Co.'s sponsor-wide assets grew 12.7%, from $8.6B to $9.6B.
Where does The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan rank by assets among Form 5500 filers?
The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan ranks in the 100th percentile by end-of-year assets among 139,126 plans that reported assets for plan year 2022 (among the largest 1% of all filed plans).
Which Defined Benefit (Pension) plans are similar in size to The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan?
Among Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in other states, the closest by assets is United Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension Plan in DC ($3.1B, 61 participants).
Which Defined Benefit (Pension) plans cover a similar participant headcount to The Northwestern Mutual Employee Retirement Plan?
Among Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in other states, the closest by covered participants is Hotel Union and Hotel Industry of Hawaii Pension Plan in HI (7,370 participants, $628M in assets).