Defined Benefit (Pension) · DOL Form 5500 · 2023

Essendant Co. Pension Plan

Data updated 2026-08-25

$57M
Total assets Below avg plan size
338
Participants Below avg headcount
87th
Percentile by assets National rank
$168,675
Avg per participant Above avg balance/head
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Official DOL plan name: Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan · Sponsored by Essendant Co. · Illinois · Wholesale Trade

$57M in assets, 338 participants

Essendant Co.'s Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan reported $57M in total assets and 338 participants in its 2023 DOL Form 5500 filing, ranking in the 87th 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.

  • #5,572 in Wholesale Trade (6,309 peers)

Coverage in Illinois

Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan covers 338 participants in Illinois, about 43% of the average Illinois filer (state average ~779 per filing). Assets: $57M.

#5,572
in Wholesale Trade (6,309 peers)
-6.8%
assets change YoY
0.6×
vs typical plan assets (national mean)

The plan reported a net loss of $4M for the year, a single-year figure driven by markets and benefit payments, not a measure of plan health.

Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan's outsized position by total assets

Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan vs every filed plan by assets

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

$57,011,985 Top 13% higher than 87% 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

Essendant Union Employees' 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 Union Employees' Pension Plan sits mid-pack in the medium band (338 participants).

What changed between DOL Form 5500 filings

plan year 2022 → plan year 2023

  • Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan reported net income fell from -$111K in the plan year 2022 filing to -$4M in the plan year 2023 filing.
  • Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan end-of-year assets fell from $61M in the plan year 2022 filing to $57M in the plan year 2023 filing.
  • Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan reported participants fell from 353 in the plan year 2022 filing to 338 in the plan year 2023 filing.

See the national 2022→2023 release diff →

Plan-year Form 5500 strip

Filing strip 362431718 · Essendant Co. PY 2023 · Defined Benefit (Pension)

Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan · $57M · 338 · 87th

  • EOY $57M
  • 5500 338
  • ASSETS 87th
  • PCT Defined Benefit (Pension)
  • EIN near Pension Plan for Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union No. 776 (Lima, Ohio)
  • RANK ind #5572

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 Union Employees' Pension Plan in the asset neighbourhood

Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems Pension PlanAviation Communication & Sur…$57MJockey International, Inc. Pension PlanJockey International, Inc. P…$57MPension Plan for Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union No. 776 (Lima, Ohio)Pension Plan for Plumbers an…$57MEssendant Union Employees' Pension PlanEssendant Union Employees' P…$57MThe Woodbridge Group U.S. Salaried Employees' Pension PlanThe Woodbridge Group U.S. Sa…$57M
End-of-year total assets ($M) among Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan and nearest nationwide Defined Benefit (Pension) peers. Source: DOL Form 5500 plan year 2023.

Illinois filing particulars

Total Assets (Beginning of Year)$61M
Net Assets (End of Year)$57M
Net Income-$4M
Employer EIN362431718
Plan Effective Date1992-01-01
Filing StatusFILING 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
$510M$520M$530M$540M$550M 202220232024 $519M $535M ▲ +2.9%
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.

Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan vs. nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in Illinois, assets vs. participants Scatter plot of 6 data points. -200000200004000060000 -200204060 Total assets ($B) Participants Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan, Total assets ($B): 0.057011985 · Participants: 338Essendant Union Employees' Pension PlanCentral States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Plan, Total assets ($B): 49.680270595 · Participants: 48538Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension PlanState Farm Insurance Companies Retirement Plan for United States Employees, Total assets ($B): 35.242945747 · Participants: 45001State Farm Insurance Companies Retirement Plan for United States EmployeesUnited Food & Commercial Workers Intl Union - Industry Pension Fund, Total assets ($B): 7.965094339 · Participants: 20680United Food & Commercial Workers Intl Union - Industry Pension FundJohn Deere Pension Plan for Salaried Employees, Total assets ($B): 7.960744597 · Participants: 16346John Deere Pension Plan for Salaried EmployeesAbbott Laboratories Annuity Retirement Plan, Total assets ($B): 7.819798504 · Participants: 17382Abbott Laboratories Annuity Retirement Plan
Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan vs. nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in Illinois, assets vs. participants
Compare Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan side-by-side with 3 peers →

Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan's out-of-state Defined Benefit (Pension) peers by assets and headcount

Outside Illinois, the nearest Defined Benefit (Pension) by assets is Pension Plan for Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union No. 776 (Lima, Ohio) in OH ($57M); by covered participants it is Iron Workers Regional Shop Local Union No 855 Pension Trust in CA (338 participants). Same-state nearby plans are listed separately above.

Similar participant headcount

Nearest other-state filings by covered participants (338 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 Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan assets move in 2023? ▼
Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan pulled back noticeably - down 6.8% during 2023, from $61M to $57M. Reported net income was -$4M.
How have Essendant Co. plan assets changed over time? ▼
Across 3 plan years on file (2022-2024), Essendant Co.'s sponsor-wide assets grew 2.9%, from $519M to $535M.
Where does Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan rank by assets among Form 5500 filers? ▼
Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan ranks in the 87th 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 Defined Benefit (Pension) plans are similar in size to Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan? ▼
Among Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in other states, the closest by assets is Pension Plan for Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union No. 776 (Lima, Ohio) in OH ($57M, 234 participants).
Which Defined Benefit (Pension) plans cover a similar participant headcount to Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan? ▼
Among Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in other states, the closest by covered participants is Iron Workers Regional Shop Local Union No 855 Pension Trust in CA (338 participants, $75M 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 362431718.

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.