Other · DOL Form 5500 · 2023

Lowell Observatory Retirement Plan

Data updated 2026-08-25

$33M
Total assets Below avg plan size
150
Participants Small participant base
80th
Percentile by assets National rank
$219,972
Avg per participant Above avg balance/head
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Official DOL plan name: Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan · Sponsored by Lowell Observatory · Arizona · Professional & Technical Services

$33M in assets, 150 participants

Lowell Observatory's Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan reported $33M in total assets and 150 participants in its 2023 DOL Form 5500 filing, ranking in the 80th 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.

  • #16,477 in Professional & Technical Services (20,321 peers)

Coverage in Arizona

Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan covers 150 participants in Arizona, about 27% of the average Arizona filer (state average ~564 per filing). Assets: $33M.

#16,477
in Professional & Technical Services (20,321 peers)
+19.1%
assets growth YoY
0.3×
vs typical plan assets (national mean)

Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan's outsized position by total assets

Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan vs every filed plan by assets

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

$32,995,770 Top 20% higher than 80% 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

Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity 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. Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan sits mid-pack in the medium band (150 participants).

What changed between DOL Form 5500 filings

plan year 2022 → plan year 2023

  • Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan reported net income rose from -$4M in the plan year 2022 filing to $5M in the plan year 2023 filing.
  • Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan end-of-year assets rose from $28M in the plan year 2022 filing to $33M in the plan year 2023 filing.
  • Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan reported participants rose from 128 in the plan year 2022 filing to 150 in the plan year 2023 filing.

See the national 2022→2023 release diff →

EBSA filing schedule strip

Filing strip 860098918 · Lowell Observatory PY 2023 · Other

Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan · $33M · 150 · 80th

  • 5500 $33M
  • 5500 150
  • 5500 80th
  • 5500 Other
  • 5500 near Nicholas H. Noyes Tax Sheltered Savings Plan
  • 5500 ind #16477

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 Professional & Technical Services retirement plans → · Plans in Arizona →

Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan in the asset neighbourhood

University of Hawaii Foundation 403(b) PlanUniversity of Hawaii Foundat…$33MSan Gorgonio Memorial Hospital Tax Sheltered Annuity PlanSan Gorgonio Memorial Hospit…$33MNicholas H. Noyes Tax Sheltered Savings PlanNicholas H. Noyes Tax Shelte…$33MLowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity PlanLowell Observatory 403(b) Re…$33M403(b)Thrift Plan of Franziska Racker Centers, Inc.403(b)Thrift Plan of Franzis…$33M
End-of-year total assets ($M) among Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan and nearest nationwide Other peers. Source: DOL Form 5500 plan year 2023.

Arizona filing particulars

Total Assets (Beginning of Year)$28M
Net Assets (End of Year)$33M
Net Income$5M
Employer EIN860098918
Plan Effective Date1953-07-01
Filing StatusFILING RECEIVED

Sponsor Plan History (Lowell Observatory)

Sponsor-wide plan assets over time

All Lowell Observatory plans reported in each filing year

Latest sponsor-wide plan assets
$37M 33.861132372107235% vs 2022
2024 filing year
$25M$30M$35M$40M 202220232024 $27.7M $37.1M ▲ +33.9%
Year Plans Participants Total Assets
2022 1 128 $28M
2023 1 150 $33M
2024 1 130 $37M

Nearby Other Plans in Arizona

Peer Other plans, same state, same plan type, ranked by total assets.

Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan vs. nearby Other plans in Arizona, assets vs. participants Scatter plot of 6 data points. -5000050001000015000 -0.500.511.5 Total assets ($B) Participants Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan, Total assets ($B): 0.03299577 · Participants: 150Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity PlanHonor Health 403(b) Retirement Security Plan, Total assets ($B): 1.023668486 · Participants: 13597Honor Health 403(b) Retirement Security PlanOperating Engineers Local 428 Annuity Trust Fund, Total assets ($B): 0.291333345 · Participants: 7670Operating Engineers Local 428 Annuity Trust FundBanner Health Employees 403(b) Plan, Total assets ($B): 0.163501548 · Participants: 11018Banner Health Employees 403(b) PlanEl Rio Santa Cruz Neighborhood Health Center, Inc. Retirement Plan, Total assets ($B): 0.149956482 · Participants: 1887El Rio Santa Cruz Neighborhood Health Center, Inc. Retirement PlanKingman Regional Medical Center Employee Retirement Plan, Total assets ($B): 0.107432825 · Participants: 1914Kingman Regional Medical Center Employee Retirement Plan
Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan vs. nearby Other plans in Arizona, assets vs. participants
Compare Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan side-by-side with 3 peers →

Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan's out-of-state Other peers by assets and headcount

Outside Arizona, the nearest Other by assets is Nicholas H. Noyes Tax Sheltered Savings Plan in NY ($33M); by covered participants it is Training Education and Manpower, Inc. Retirement Plan in CT (150 participants). Same-state nearby plans are listed separately above.

Similar participant headcount

Nearest other-state filings by covered participants (150 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 Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan assets move in 2023? ▼
Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan grew sharply - up 19.1% during 2023, from $28M to $33M. Reported net income was $5M.
How have Lowell Observatory plan assets changed over time? ▼
Across 3 plan years on file (2022-2024), Lowell Observatory's sponsor-wide assets grew 33.9%, from $28M to $37M.
Where does Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan rank by assets among Form 5500 filers? ▼
Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan ranks in the 80th 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 Other plans are similar in size to Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan? ▼
Among Other plans in other states, the closest by assets is Nicholas H. Noyes Tax Sheltered Savings Plan in NY ($33M, 491 participants).
Which Other plans cover a similar participant headcount to Lowell Observatory 403(b) Retirement Annuity Plan? ▼
Among Other plans in other states, the closest by covered participants is Training Education and Manpower, Inc. Retirement Plan in CT (150 participants, $5M 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 860098918.

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.