Defined Benefit (Pension) · DOL Form 5500 · 2023

Northwestern Corporation Pension Plan

Data updated 2026-08-25

$56M
Total assets Below avg plan size
131
Participants Small participant base
87th
Percentile by assets National rank
$425,276
Avg per participant High balance/head
PlainRetire home → About this data RSS: change history

Official DOL plan name: Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan · Sponsored by Northwestern Corporation · Montana · Utilities

$56M in assets, 131 participants

Northwestern Corporation's Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan reported $56M in total assets and 131 participants in its 2023 DOL Form 5500 filing, ranking in the 87th 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.

  • #386 in Utilities (721 peers)

Coverage in Montana

Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan covers 131 participants in Montana, about 48% of the average Montana filer (state average ~271 per filing). Assets: $56M.

#386
in Utilities (721 peers)
+3.2%
assets growth YoY
0.6×
vs typical plan assets (national mean)

Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan's outsized position by total assets

Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan vs every filed plan by assets

End-of-year total assets · plan year 2023 · DOL Form 5500

$55,711,110 Top 13% higher than 87% of 127,068 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 2023

Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan among mid-size filed plans by headcount

Plan-year 2023 Form 5500 filings with a reported participant count, partitioned by headcount band, not by assets. Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan sits mid-pack in the medium band (131 participants).

What changed between DOL Form 5500 filings

plan year 2022 → plan year 2023

  • Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan reported net income rose from -$15M in the plan year 2022 filing to $2M in the plan year 2023 filing.
  • Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan reported participants fell from 139 in the plan year 2022 filing to 131 in the plan year 2023 filing.
  • Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan end-of-year assets rose from $54M in the plan year 2022 filing to $56M in the plan year 2023 filing.

See the national 2022→2023 release diff →

EBSA filing schedule strip

Filing strip 460172280 · Northwestern Corporation PY 2023 · Defined Benefit (Pension)

Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan · $56M · 131 · 87th

  • EIN $56M
  • RANK 131
  • PHOTO 87th
  • IND Defined Benefit (Pension)
  • EOY near Retirement Plan for Non-Academic Employees
  • 5500 ind #386

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 Utilities retirement plans → · Plans in Montana →

Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan in the asset neighbourhood

San Diego County Theatrical Pension PlanSan Diego County Theatrical …$56MRetirement Plan for Non-Academic EmployeesRetirement Plan for Non-Acad…$56MNorthwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension PlanNorthwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pe…$56MPension Plan for Hourly Employees of Alstom Power IncPension Plan for Hourly Empl…$56MThe Spirax Sarco, Inc. Pension PlanThe Spirax Sarco, Inc. Pensi…$56M
End-of-year total assets ($M) among Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan and nearest nationwide Defined Benefit (Pension) peers. Source: DOL Form 5500 plan year 2023.

Montana filing particulars

Total Assets (Beginning of Year)$54M
Net Assets (End of Year)$56M
Net Income$2M
Employer EIN460172280
Plan Effective Date1940-10-01
Filing StatusFILING RECEIVED

Sponsor Plan History (Northwestern Corporation)

Sponsor-wide plan assets over time

All Northwestern Corporation plans reported in each filing year

Latest sponsor-wide plan assets
$911M 6.581242375535956% vs 2022
2024 filing year
$840M$860M$880M$900M$920M 202220232024 $855M $911M ▲ +6.6%
Year Plans Participants Total Assets
2022 3 2,084 $855M
2023 3 2,047 $869M
2024 3 2,037 $911M

Nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) Plans in Montana

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

Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan vs. nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in Montana, assets vs. participants Scatter plot of 6 data points. 0100200300400500 -1000100200300400 Total assets ($M) Participants Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan, Total assets ($M): 55.71111 · Participants: 131Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension PlanNorthwestern Energy Mt Pension Plan, Total assets ($M): 350.19428 · Participants: 387Northwestern Energy Mt Pension PlanSt. Peter's Health Cashplus Retirement Plan, Total assets ($M): 56.808753 · Participants: 285St. Peter's Health Cashplus Retirement PlanRetirement Plan for Employees of Northern Montana Hospital, Total assets ($M): 34.073428 · Participants: 111Retirement Plan for Employees of Northern Montana HospitalPension Plan for Employees of Advanced Silicon Materials, LLC, Total assets ($M): 28.641653 · Participants: 76Pension Plan for Employees of Advanced Silicon Materials, LLCAmerican Chemet Corporation Retirement Income Plan, Total assets ($M): 16.095512 · Participants: 51American Chemet Corporation Retirement Income Plan
Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan vs. nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in Montana, assets vs. participants
Compare Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan side-by-side with 3 peers →

Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan's out-of-state Defined Benefit (Pension) peers by assets and headcount

Outside Montana, the nearest Defined Benefit (Pension) by assets is Retirement Plan for Non-Academic Employees in NY ($56M); by covered participants it is Pq Corporation Retirement Plan in PA (131 participants). Same-state nearby plans are listed separately above.

Similar participant headcount

Nearest other-state filings by covered participants (131 participants); asset peers above are excluded.

DOL Form 5500 plan year 2023. Asset totals can differ widely at the same headcount; neither axis is a quality rating.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan assets move in 2023? ▼
Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan edged up modestly - up 3.2% during 2023, from $54M to $56M. Reported net income was $2M.
How have Northwestern Corporation plan assets changed over time? ▼
Across 3 plan years on file (2022-2024), Northwestern Corporation's sponsor-wide assets grew 6.6%, from $855M to $911M.
Where does Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan rank by assets among Form 5500 filers? ▼
Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan ranks in the 87th percentile by end-of-year assets among 127,072 plans that reported assets for plan year 2023 (in the top quartile of all filed plans by assets).
Which Defined Benefit (Pension) plans are similar in size to Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan? ▼
Among Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in other states, the closest by assets is Retirement Plan for Non-Academic Employees in NY ($56M, 177 participants).
Which Defined Benefit (Pension) plans cover a similar participant headcount to Northwestern Energy Sd/Ne Pension Plan? ▼
Among Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in other states, the closest by covered participants is Pq Corporation Retirement Plan in PA (131 participants, $132M in assets).

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Form 5500 public disclosure dataset. Plan year 2023.

Source: DOL EFAST2 filing system (efast.dol.gov) - original filing retrieval by EIN 460172280.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 filings (EBSA). See our methodology for details.