401(k) · DOL Form 5500 · 2023

Northwestern Mutual Life Ins. Co. 401(k) Plan

Data updated 2026-08-11

$2.7B
Total assets
8,299
Participants
99th
Percentile by assets
$319,439
Avg per participant
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Official DOL plan name: The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan · Sponsored by Northwestern Mutual Life Ins. Co. · Wisconsin · Finance & Insurance

$2.7B in assets, 8,299 participants

Northwestern Mutual Life Ins. Co.'s The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan reported $2.7B in total assets and 8,299 participants in its 2023 DOL Form 5500 filing, ranking in the 99th 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.

  • 99th percentile by assets (of 127,072 plans)
  • #8,771 in Finance & Insurance (8,869 peers)

Coverage in Wisconsin

The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan covers 8,299 participants in Wisconsin, 15x the typical Wisconsin plan (state average ~563 per filing). Assets: $2.7B.

$2.7B
total plan assets (2023 EOY)
8,299
covered participants
99th
percentile by assets (of 127,072 plans)
$319,439
avg assets per participant

What changed between DOL Form 5500 filings

plan year 2022 → plan year 2023

  • The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan reported net income rose from -$121M in the plan year 2022 filing to $265M in the plan year 2023 filing.
  • The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan reported participants rose from 7,423 in the plan year 2022 filing to 8,299 in the plan year 2023 filing.
  • The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan end-of-year assets rose from $2.4B in the plan year 2022 filing to $2.7B in the plan year 2023 filing.

See the national 2023→2024 release diff →

Participants vs Wisconsin filers

In Wisconsin, the average filing covers about 563 participants across 2,940 plans. The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan reports 8,299 participants - 15x that state average ($2.7B EOY assets).

Wisconsin filing particulars

Total Assets (Beginning of Year)$2.4B
Net Assets (End of Year)$2.7B
Net Income$265M
Employer EIN390509570
Plan Effective Date1985-01-01
Filing StatusFILING RECEIVED

Sponsor Plan History (Northwestern Mutual Life Ins. Co.)

$8B$8.5B$9B$9.5B$10B 202220232024 $8.56B $9.65B ▲ +12.7%
Total plan assets by year, all Northwestern Mutual Life Ins. Co. plans on file
Year Plans Participants Total Assets
2022 4 27,987 $8.6B
2023 4 29,929 $9.3B
2024 4 30,138 $9.6B

Nearby 401(k) Plans in Wisconsin

Peer 401(k) plans, same state, same plan type, ranked by total assets.

The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan vs. nearby 401(k) plans in Wisconsin, assets vs. participants

The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan vs. nearby 401(k) plans in Wisconsin, assets vs. participants Scatter plot of 6 data points. 020000400006000080000100000 246810 Total assets ($B) Participants The Northwestern Mut…Advocate Aurora Heal…Johnson Controls Ret…Fiserv 401(k) Saving…Kimberly-Clark Corpo…Rockwell Automation …
The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan vs. nearby 401(k) plans in Wisconsin, assets vs. participants

Scale composition for The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan

The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan reports $2.7B in end-of-year assets across 8,299 participants (0.022% of the $12.3T held by all Form 5500 filers in the national rollup , and 0.009% of 93,925,755 covered participants) - about $319,439 per participant (2.3x the national average assets-per-participant) . Net income for plan year 2023 was $265M.

This plan identity (EIN 390509570, plan #005) has 3 Form 5500 filings on file from 2022 to 2024 , with end-of-year assets moving from $2.4B to $2.9B (+21.2%) while covered participants moved from 7,423 to 8,232 . Single-year sparse filers cannot show that trail.

Plan year Participants EOY assets Filing
2022 7,423 $2.4B Open filing
2023 8,299 $2.7B This page
2024 · index core 8,232 $2.9B Open filing

The same sponsor also keeps 4 other index-core plans on PlainRetire:

Similar-Sized 401(k) Plans Nationally

401(k) plans in other states closest to The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan by total assets, not by location.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan assets move in 2023?
The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan grew at a solid clip - up 11.1% during 2023, from $2.4B to $2.7B. Reported net income was $265M.
How have Northwestern Mutual Life Ins. Co. plan assets changed over time?
Across 3 plan years on file (2022-2024), Northwestern Mutual Life Ins. Co.'s sponsor-wide assets grew 12.7%, from $8.6B to $9.6B.
Where does The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan rank by assets among Form 5500 filers?
The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan ranks in the 99th percentile by end-of-year assets among 127,072 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 The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan?
Among 401(k) plans in other states, the closest by assets is Kinder Morgan Savings Plan in TX ($2.7B, 10,615 participants).

Next read for The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings…

Filing takeaways

Ways to act on The Northwestern Mutual Employee Savings Plan's numbers.