401(k) · DOL Form 5500 · 2023

Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan

Data updated 2026-08-06

$9.9B
Total assets: 60,657
Participants: 100th
Percentile by assets: $162,668
Avg per participant

Official DOL plan name: Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan · Sponsored by Southwest Airlines Co. · Texas · Transportation & Warehousing

$9.9B in assets, 60,657 participants

Southwest Airlines Co.'s Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan reported $9.9B in total assets and 60,657 participants in its 2023 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.

100th percentile by assets (of 126,618 plans)
#3,332 in Transportation & Warehousing (3,344 peers)

Coverage in Texas

Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan covers 60,657 participants in Texas, 86x the typical Texas plan (state average ~704 per filing). Assets: $9.9B.

$9.9B
total plan assets (2023 EOY): 60,657
covered participants: 100th
percentile by assets (of 126,618 plans): $162,668
avg assets per participant

Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan reported net income rose from -$1.6B in the plan year 2022 filing to $1.9B in the plan year 2023 filing.
Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan end-of-year assets rose from $8.0B in the plan year 2022 filing to $9.9B in the plan year 2023 filing.
Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan reported participants rose from 50,590 in the plan year 2022 filing to 60,657 in the plan year 2023 filing.

See the national 2023→2024 release diff →

State

Texas

Industry

Transportation & Warehousing

Participants vs Texas filers

In Texas, the average filing covers about 704 participants across 9,718 plans. Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan reports 60,657 participants - 86x that state average ($9.9B EOY assets).

Texas filing particulars

Total Assets (Beginning of Year)	$8.0B
Net Assets (End of Year)	$9.9B
Net Income	$1.9B
Employer EIN	741563240
Plan Effective Date	1991-01-01
Filing Status	FILING RECEIVED

Sponsor Plan History (Southwest Airlines Co.)

Total plan assets by year, all Southwest Airlines Co. plans on file

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.

Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan vs. nearby 401(k) plans in Texas, assets vs. participants

AT&T Retirement Savings Plan $40.0B · 119,854
Exxonmobil Savings Plan $21.9B · 23,477
Caterpillar 401(k) Savings Plan $16.5B · 41,679
American Airlines, Inc. 401(k) Plan $14.7B · 88,792
Dell Inc. 401(k) Plan $13.5B · 45,686

Compare Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan side-by-side with 3 peers →

Scale composition for Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan

Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan reports $9.9B in end-of-year assets across 60,657 participants (0.085% of the $11.6T held by all Form 5500 filers in the national rollup , and 0.068% of 89,805,449 covered participants) - about $162,668 per participant (1.2x the national average assets-per-participant) . Net income for plan year 2023 was $1.9B.

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	Open filing
2023	60,657	$9.9B	This page
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)

Similar-Sized 401(k) Plans Nationally

401(k) plans in other states closest to Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan by total assets, not by location.

GE Healthcare Retirement Savings Plan (IL) $9.8B · N/A
The Vanguard Retirement and Savings Plan (PA) $9.8B · 18,200
The Dow Chemical Company Employees' Savings Plan (MI) $10.1B · 18,088
Truist Financial Corporation 401(k) Savings Plan (NC) $10.1B · 55,480

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan assets move in 2023? ▼

Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan grew sharply - up 23.4% during 2023, from $8.0B to $9.9B. Reported net income was $1.9B.

How have Southwest Airlines Co. plan assets changed over time? ▼

Across 3 plan years on file (2022-2024), Southwest Airlines Co.'s sponsor-wide assets grew 37.3%, from $20.9B to $28.7B.

Where does Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan rank by assets among Form 5500 filers? ▼

Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan ranks in the 100th percentile by end-of-year assets among 126,618 plans that reported assets for plan year 2023 (among the largest 1% of all filed plans).

Which 401(k) plans are similar in size to Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan? ▼

Among 401(k) plans in other states, the closest by assets is GE Healthcare Retirement Savings Plan in IL ($9.8B, N/A participants).

Next read for Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan

Filing takeaways

Ways to act on Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan's numbers.

By total assets, Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan ranks among the largest 1% of all filed plans. See the largest plans
Compare it side-by-side against 3 similar 401(k) plans in Texas. Compare plans
Southwest Airlines Co.'s sponsor-wide assets have grown 37.3% since 2022 across 3 plan years on file. More Transportation & Warehousing plans

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 741563240.