Other · DOL Form 5500 · 2024
Northwestern University Retirement Plan
Data updated 2026-08-25
- $1.2B
- Total assets Very large vs avg
- 12,219
- Participants Very large workforce
- 99th
- Percentile by assets National rank
- $99,638
- Avg per participant Below avg balance/head
Official DOL plan name: Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan · Sponsored by Northwestern University · Illinois · Educational Services
$1.2B in assets, 12,219 participants
Northwestern University's Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan reported $1.2B in total assets and 12,219 participants in its 2024 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.
- #3,571 in Educational Services (3,638 peers)
Coverage in Illinois
Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan covers 12,219 participants in Illinois, 16x the typical Illinois plan (state average ~779 per filing). Assets: $1.2B.
- #3,571
- in Educational Services (3,638 peers)
- +10.9%
- assets growth YoY
- 12×
- vs typical plan assets (national mean)
Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan's outsized position by total assets
Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan vs every filed plan by assets
End-of-year total assets · plan year 2024 · DOL Form 5500
$1,217,480,117 Top 1% higher than 99% of 123,620 filed plans
Dashed line + filled bar = this entry, among filed plans.
Source U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 filings (EBSA) · plan year 2024
Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan's mega-plan peer group by participant headcount
Plan-year 2024 Form 5500 filings with a reported participant count, partitioned by headcount band, not by assets. Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan is a mega filing (12,219 participants), the rightmost band on the breakdown.
What changed between DOL Form 5500 filings
plan year 2023 → plan year 2024
- Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan reported net income fell from $147M in the plan year 2023 filing to $120M in the plan year 2024 filing.
- Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan end-of-year assets rose from $1.1B in the plan year 2023 filing to $1.2B in the plan year 2024 filing.
- Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan reported participants fell from 12,335 in the plan year 2023 filing to 12,219 in the plan year 2024 filing.
EBSA filing schedule strip
Filing strip 362167817 · Northwestern University PY 2024 · Other
Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan · $1.2B · 12,219 · 99th
- PHOTO $1.2B
- PHOTO 12,219
- PHOTO 99th
- PHOTO Other
- PHOTO near Retirement Savings Plan for Employees of West Penn Allegheny Health System
- PHOTO ind #3571
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 Voluntary Savings Plan in the asset neighbourhood
Illinois filing particulars
| Total Assets (Beginning of Year) | $1.1B |
|---|---|
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $1.2B |
| Net Income | $120M |
| Employer EIN | 362167817 |
| Plan Effective Date | 1974-09-01 |
| 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.
- Northwestern University Retirement Plan $4.4B · 9,328
- The University of Chicago Contributory Retirement Plan $3.8B · 5,144
- Endeavor Health Legacy 403(b) Tax Deferred Annuity Plan for Northshore University Healthsystem Employees $2.1B · 13,718
- The University of Chicago Supplemental Retirement Plan $1.9B · 8,635
- Rush University Medical Center 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan $1.8B · 13,592
Scale composition for Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan
Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan reports $1.2B in end-of-year assets across 12,219 participants (0.010% of the $12.3T held by all Form 5500 filers in the national rollup , and 0.013% of 93,925,755 covered participants) - about $99,638 per participant (72% of the national average assets-per-participant) . Net income for plan year 2024 was $120M.
This plan identity (EIN 362167817, plan #003) has 3 Form 5500 filings on file from 2022 to 2024 , with end-of-year assets moving from $950M to $1.2B (+28.1%) while covered participants moved from 15,574 to 12,219 . Single-year sparse filers cannot show that trail.
| Plan year | Participants | EOY assets | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 15,574 | $950M | Open filing |
| 2023 | 12,335 | $1.1B | Open filing |
| 2024 · index core | 12,219 | $1.2B | This page |
The same sponsor also keeps 1 other index-core plan on PlainRetire:
- Northwestern University Retirement Plan (Other, $4.4B, 9,328 participants)
Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan's out-of-state Other peers by assets and headcount
Outside Illinois, the nearest Other by assets is Retirement Savings Plan for Employees of West Penn Allegheny Health System in PA ($1.2B); by covered participants it is Temple University Health System, Inc. 403(b) Plan in PA (12,208 participants). Same-state nearby plans are listed separately above.
Closest by plan assets
Nearest other-state filings by tot_assets_eoy ($1.2B here).
- Retirement Savings Plan for Employees of West Penn Allegheny Health System (PA) $1.2B · 7,174
- Ucar Retirement Plan (CO) $1.2B · 1,662
- Howard University Savings Plan (DC) $1.2B · 6,543
- Defined Contribution Retirement Plan for Faculty of the University of Miami (FL) $1.2B · 928
Similar participant headcount
Nearest other-state filings by covered participants (12,219 participants); asset peers above are excluded.
- Temple University Health System, Inc. 403(b) Plan (PA) 12,208 · 11 off
- Ballad Health 403(b) Plan (TN) 12,134 · 85 off
- The Mitre Corporation Tax Sheltered Annuity Plan (VA) 12,379 · 160 off
- Employee Retirement Savings Plan - Premier Health Partners (OH) 12,398 · 179 off
DOL Form 5500 plan year 2024. Asset totals can differ widely at the same headcount; neither axis is a quality rating.