Defined Benefit (Pension) · DOL Form 5500 · 2023
Essendant Co. Pension Plan
Data updated 2026-08-25
- $73M
- Total assets Below avg plan size
- 868
- Participants Near avg headcount
- 89th
- Percentile by assets National rank
- $84,425
- Avg per participant Below avg balance/head
Official DOL plan name: Essendant Pension Plan · Sponsored by Essendant Co. · Illinois · Wholesale Trade
$73M in assets, 868 participants
Essendant Co.'s Essendant Pension Plan reported $73M in total assets and 868 participants in its 2023 DOL Form 5500 filing, ranking in the 89th 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.
- #5,719 in Wholesale Trade (6,309 peers)
Where Essendant Pension Plan sits by assets
Essendant Pension Plan sits in the top quartile of all filed plans by assets, $73M for 868 participants (~$84,425/participant), down 15.4% in 2023.
- #5,719
- in Wholesale Trade (6,309 peers)
- -15.4%
- assets change YoY
- 0.7×
- vs typical plan assets (national mean)
The plan reported a net loss of $13M for the year, a single-year figure driven by markets and benefit payments, not a measure of plan health.
Essendant Pension Plan's outsized position by total assets
Essendant Pension Plan vs every filed plan by assets
End-of-year total assets · plan year 2023 · DOL Form 5500
$73,281,060 Top 11% higher than 89% 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
Essendant Pension 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. Essendant Pension Plan sits mid-pack in the medium band (868 participants).
What changed between DOL Form 5500 filings
plan year 2022 → plan year 2023
- Essendant Pension Plan reported net income fell from -$8M in the plan year 2022 filing to -$13M in the plan year 2023 filing.
- Essendant Pension Plan end-of-year assets fell from $87M in the plan year 2022 filing to $73M in the plan year 2023 filing.
- Essendant Pension Plan reported participants fell from 986 in the plan year 2022 filing to 868 in the plan year 2023 filing.
Published 5500 schedule card
Filing strip 362431718 · Essendant Co. PY 2023 · Defined Benefit (Pension)
Essendant Pension Plan · $73M · 868 · 89th
- IND $73M
- EOY 868
- 5500 89th
- ASSETS Defined Benefit (Pension)
- PCT near Stahl Specialty Company/Watry Industries Employees' Pension Plan
- EIN ind #5719
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 Wholesale Trade retirement plans → · Plans in Illinois →
Essendant Pension Plan in the asset neighbourhood
Scale-class filing particulars (2023)
| Total Assets (Beginning of Year) | $87M |
|---|---|
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $73M |
| Net Income | -$13M |
| Employer EIN | 362431718 |
| Plan Effective Date | 1976-09-01 |
| Filing Status | FILING RECEIVED |
Sponsor Plan History (Essendant Co.)
Sponsor-wide plan assets over time
All Essendant Co. plans reported in each filing year
- Latest sponsor-wide plan assets
- $535M 2.9464882873080485% vs 2022
- 2024 filing year
| Year | Plans | Participants | Total Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3 | 4,642 | $519M |
| 2023 | 3 | 4,884 | $540M |
| 2024 | 3 | 4,027 | $535M |
Nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) Plans in Illinois
Peer Defined Benefit (Pension) plans, same state, same plan type, ranked by total assets.
- Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Plan $49.7B · 48,538
- State Farm Insurance Companies Retirement Plan for United States Employees $35.2B · 45,001
- United Food & Commercial Workers Intl Union - Industry Pension Fund $8.0B · 20,680
- John Deere Pension Plan for Salaried Employees $8.0B · 16,346
- Abbott Laboratories Annuity Retirement Plan $7.8B · 17,382
Essendant Pension Plan's out-of-state Defined Benefit (Pension) peers by assets and headcount
Outside Illinois, the nearest Defined Benefit (Pension) by assets is Stahl Specialty Company/Watry Industries Employees' Pension Plan in MO ($73M); by covered participants it is United Association Local 7 Pension Plan in NY (867 participants). Same-state nearby plans are listed separately above.
Closest by plan assets
Nearest other-state filings by tot_assets_eoy ($73M here).
- Stahl Specialty Company/Watry Industries Employees' Pension Plan (MO) $73M · 78
- United States Cold Storage, Inc. Pension Plan (NJ) $73M · 1,836
- Richmond Univ Medical Center Pension Plan for Employees Represented by Nysna (NY) $73M · 451
- Cash Balance Retirement Plan for Non-Union Employees of Butler Memorial Hospital (PA) $73M · 1,229
Similar participant headcount
Nearest other-state filings by covered participants (868 participants); asset peers above are excluded.
- United Association Local 7 Pension Plan (NY) 867 · 1 off
- San Diego County Theatrical Pension Plan (CA) 869 · 1 off
- Yale New Haven Health System Pension Plan (CT) 869 · 1 off
- Carpenters & Millwrights of Houston Vicinity Pension Fund (TN) 866 · 2 off
DOL Form 5500 plan year 2023. Asset totals can differ widely at the same headcount; neither axis is a quality rating.