401(k) · DOL Form 5500 · 2023
Southwest Airlines Company 401(k) Plan
Data updated 2026-08-06
- $9.1B
- Total assets
- 9,726
- Participants
- 100th
- Percentile by assets
- $939,995
- Avg per participant
Official DOL plan name: Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan · Sponsored by Southwest Airlines Company · Texas · Transportation & Warehousing
$9.1B in assets, 9,726 participants
Southwest Airlines Company's Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan reported $9.1B in total assets and 9,726 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)
- #3,330 in Transportation & Warehousing (3,344 peers)
Coverage in Texas
Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan covers 9,726 participants in Texas, 14x the typical Texas plan (state average ~704 per filing). Assets: $9.1B.
- $9.1B
- total plan assets (2023 EOY)
- 9,726
- covered participants
- 100th
- percentile by assets (of 126,618 plans)
- $939,995
- avg assets per participant
What changed between DOL Form 5500 filings
plan year 2022 → plan year 2023
- Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan reported net income rose from -$1.2B in the plan year 2022 filing to $1.6B in the plan year 2023 filing.
- Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan end-of-year assets rose from $7.6B in the plan year 2022 filing to $9.1B in the plan year 2023 filing.
- Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan reported participants rose from 9,186 in the plan year 2022 filing to 9,726 in the plan year 2023 filing.
Participants vs Texas filers
In Texas, the average filing covers about 704 participants across 9,718 plans. Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan reports 9,726 participants - 14x that state average ($9.1B EOY assets).
Texas filing particulars
| Total Assets (Beginning of Year) | $7.6B |
|---|---|
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $9.1B |
| Net Income | $1.6B |
| Employer EIN | 741563240 |
| Plan Effective Date | 1986-01-01 |
| Filing Status | FILING RECEIVED |
Sponsor Plan History (Southwest Airlines Company)
| 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 Pilots Retirement Savings 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
Scale composition for Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan
Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan reports $9.1B in end-of-year assets across 9,726 participants (0.079% of the $11.6T held by all Form 5500 filers in the national rollup , and 0.011% of 89,805,449 covered participants) - about $939,995 per participant (6.9x the national average assets-per-participant) . Net income for plan year 2023 was $1.6B.
This plan identity (EIN 741563240, plan #003) has 3 Form 5500 filings on file from 2022 to 2024 , with end-of-year assets moving from $7.6B to $11.6B (+53.3%) while covered participants moved from 9,186 to 11,242 . Single-year sparse filers cannot show that trail.
| Plan year | Participants | EOY assets | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 9,186 | $7.6B | Open filing |
| 2023 | 9,726 | $9.1B | This page |
| 2024 · index core | 11,242 | $11.6B | 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 Pilots Retirement Savings Plan by total assets, not by location.
- Advocate Aurora Health 401(k) Plan (WI) $9.1B · 76,956
- McKinsey & Company, Inc. (Psrp) Profit Sharing Retirement Plan (NY) $9.1B · 17,796
- Nokia Savings/401(k) Plan (NJ) $9.1B · 7,326
- The Travelers 401(k) Savings Plan (MN) $9.2B · 29,650
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan assets move in 2023? ▼
How have Southwest Airlines Company plan assets changed over time? ▼
Where does Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan rank by assets among Form 5500 filers? ▼
Which 401(k) plans are similar in size to Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan? ▼
Next read for Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Sav…
Filing takeaways
Ways to act on Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan's numbers.
- By total assets, Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings 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 Company's sponsor-wide assets have grown 37.3% since 2022 across 3 plan years on file. More Transportation & Warehousing plans