Other · DOL Form 5500 · 2023
Northwestern University Retirement Plan
Data updated 2026-08-25
- $4.0B
- Total assets Very large vs avg
- 9,440
- Participants Very large workforce
- 100th
- Percentile by assets National rank
- $426,078
- Avg per participant High balance/head
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.
- #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.
- #3,718
- in Educational Services (3,735 peers)
- +14.5%
- assets growth YoY
- 40×
- vs typical plan assets (national mean)
Northwestern University Retirement Plan's outsized position by total assets
Northwestern University Retirement Plan vs every filed plan by assets
End-of-year total assets · plan year 2023 · DOL Form 5500
$4,022,176,874 Highest reported value at or above every one of 127,068 filed plans
Dashed line + filled bar = this entry, among filed plans.
Source U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 filings (EBSA) · plan year 2023
Northwestern University Retirement Plan's large-plan peer group by participant headcount
Plan-year 2023 Form 5500 filings with a reported participant count, partitioned by headcount band, not by assets. Northwestern University Retirement Plan lands in the large band (9,440 participants).
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.
DOL schedule card
Filing strip 362167817 · Northwestern University PY 2023 · Other
Northwestern University Retirement Plan · $4.0B · 9,440 · 100th
- IND $4.0B
- IND 9,440
- IND 100th
- IND Other
- IND near Nyu Grossman School of Medicine Retirement Plan for Members of the Faculty, Professional Research Staff and Administration
- IND ind #3718
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 Educational Services retirement plans → · Plans in Illinois →
Northwestern University Retirement Plan in the asset neighbourhood
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)
Sponsor-wide plan assets over time
All Northwestern University plans reported in each filing year
- Latest sponsor-wide plan assets
- $5.7B 26.835153425030896% vs 2022
- 2024 filing year
| 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.
- 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)
Northwestern University Retirement Plan's out-of-state Other peers by assets and headcount
Outside Illinois, the nearest Other by assets is Nyu Grossman School of Medicine Retirement Plan for Members of the Faculty, Professional Research Staff and Administration in NY ($4.0B); by covered participants it is Centracare Health System 403(b) Plan in MN (9,437 participants). Same-state nearby plans are listed separately above.
Closest by plan assets
Nearest other-state filings by tot_assets_eoy ($4.0B here).
- 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
Similar participant headcount
Nearest other-state filings by covered participants (9,440 participants); asset peers above are excluded.
- Centracare Health System 403(b) Plan (MN) 9,437 · 3 off
- Nebraska Medicine Retirement Plan - Base and Matching Contributions (NE) 9,430 · 10 off
- Nebraska Medicine Retirement Plan - Employee Contributions (NE) 9,430 · 10 off
- Lifespan Corporation 403(b)Retirement Plan (RI) 9,416 · 24 off
DOL Form 5500 plan year 2023. Asset totals can differ widely at the same headcount; neither axis is a quality rating.