Other · DOL Form 5500 · 2023
Northwestern University Retirement Plan
Data updated 2026-08-11
- $4.0B
- Total assets
- 9,440
- Participants
- 100th
- Percentile by assets
- $426,078
- Avg per participant
Official DOL plan name: Northwestern University Retirement Plan · Sponsored by Northwestern University · Illinois · Educational Services
$4.0B in assets, 9,440 participants
Northwestern University's Northwestern University Retirement Plan reported $4.0B in total assets and 9,440 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 127,072 plans)
- #3,718 in Educational Services (3,735 peers)
Coverage in Illinois
Northwestern University Retirement Plan covers 9,440 participants in Illinois, 12x the typical Illinois plan (state average ~779 per filing). Assets: $4.0B.
- $4.0B
- total plan assets (2023 EOY)
- 9,440
- covered participants
- 100th
- percentile by assets (of 127,072 plans)
- $426,078
- avg assets per participant
What changed between DOL Form 5500 filings
plan year 2022 → plan year 2023
- Northwestern University Retirement Plan reported net income rose from -$570M in the plan year 2022 filing to $508M in the plan year 2023 filing.
- Northwestern University Retirement Plan end-of-year assets rose from $3.5B in the plan year 2022 filing to $4.0B in the plan year 2023 filing.
- Northwestern University Retirement Plan reported participants fell from 9,465 in the plan year 2022 filing to 9,440 in the plan year 2023 filing.
Participants vs Illinois filers
In Illinois, the average filing covers about 779 participants across 5,745 plans. Northwestern University Retirement Plan reports 9,440 participants - 12x that state average ($4.0B EOY assets).
Illinois filing particulars
| Total Assets (Beginning of Year) | $3.5B |
|---|---|
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $4.0B |
| Net Income | $508M |
| Employer EIN | 362167817 |
| Plan Effective Date | 1920-09-12 |
| Filing Status | FILING RECEIVED |
Sponsor Plan History (Northwestern University)
| Year | Plans | Participants | Total Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3 | 25,039 | $4.5B |
| 2023 | 3 | 21,775 | $5.1B |
| 2024 | 3 | 21,547 | $5.7B |
Nearby Other Plans in Illinois
Peer Other plans, same state, same plan type, ranked by total assets.
Northwestern University Retirement Plan vs. nearby Other plans in Illinois, assets vs. participants
- The University of Chicago Contributory Retirement Plan $3.5B · 4,796
- Endeavor Health Legacy 403(b) Tax Deferred Annuity Plan for Northshore University Healthsystem Employees $2.0B · 13,705
- The University of Chicago Supplemental Retirement Plan $1.7B · 8,254
- Argonne National Laboratory 403(b) Employee Retirement Plan $1.6B · 3,798
- Rush University Medical Center 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan $1.5B · 12,975
Scale composition for Northwestern University Retirement Plan
Northwestern University Retirement Plan reports $4.0B in end-of-year assets across 9,440 participants (0.033% of the $12.3T held by all Form 5500 filers in the national rollup , and 0.010% of 93,925,755 covered participants) - about $426,078 per participant (3.1x the national average assets-per-participant) . Net income for plan year 2023 was $508M.
This plan identity (EIN 362167817, plan #001) has 3 Form 5500 filings on file from 2022 to 2024 , with end-of-year assets moving from $3.5B to $4.4B (+26.5%) while covered participants moved from 9,465 to 9,328 . Single-year sparse filers cannot show that trail.
| Plan year | Participants | EOY assets | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 9,465 | $3.5B | Open filing |
| 2023 | 9,440 | $4.0B | This page |
| 2024 · index core | 9,328 | $4.4B | Open filing |
The same sponsor also keeps 2 other index-core plans on PlainRetire:
- Northwestern University Retirement Plan (Other, $4.4B, 9,328 participants)
- Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan (Other, $1.2B, 12,219 participants)
Similar-Sized Other Plans Nationally
Other plans in other states closest to Northwestern University Retirement Plan by total assets, not by location.
- Nyu Grossman School of Medicine Retirement Plan for Members of the Faculty, Professional Research Staff and Administration (NY) $4.0B · 6,469
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center Retirement Plan (TN) $4.1B · 30,220
- The Retirement Savings Plan (NY) $4.1B · 41,528
- Columbia University Voluntary Retirement Savings Plan (NY) $4.1B · 23,835
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Northwestern University Retirement Plan assets move in 2023? ▼
How have Northwestern University plan assets changed over time? ▼
Where does Northwestern University Retirement Plan rank by assets among Form 5500 filers? ▼
Which Other plans are similar in size to Northwestern University Retirement Plan? ▼
Next read for Northwestern University Retirement Plan
Filing takeaways
Ways to act on Northwestern University Retirement Plan's numbers.
- By total assets, Northwestern University Retirement Plan ranks among the largest 1% of all filed plans. See the largest plans
- Compare it side-by-side against 3 similar Other plans in Illinois. Compare plans
- Northwestern University's sponsor-wide assets have grown 26.8% since 2022 across 3 plan years on file. More Educational Services plans