Other · DOL Form 5500 · 2024
Northwestern University Retirement Plan
Data updated 2026-08-11
- $1.2B
- Total assets
- 12,219
- Participants
- 99th
- Percentile by assets
- $99,638
- Avg per participant
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.
- 99th percentile by assets (of 123,622 plans)
- #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.
- $1.2B
- total plan assets (2024 EOY)
- 12,219
- covered participants
- 99th
- percentile by assets (of 123,622 plans)
- $99,638
- avg assets per participant
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.
Participants vs Illinois filers
In Illinois, the average filing covers about 779 participants across 5,745 plans. Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan reports 12,219 participants - 16x that state average ($1.2B EOY assets).
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)
| 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 Voluntary Savings Plan vs. nearby Other plans in Illinois, assets vs. participants
- 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)
Similar-Sized Other Plans Nationally
Other plans in other states closest to Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan by total assets, not by location.
- 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
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan assets move in 2024? ▼
How have Northwestern University plan assets changed over time? ▼
Where does Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan rank by assets among Form 5500 filers? ▼
Which Other plans are similar in size to Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan? ▼
Next read for Northwestern University Voluntary Saving…
Filing takeaways
Ways to act on Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan's numbers.
- By total assets, Northwestern University Voluntary Savings Plan ranks among the largest 1% of all filed plans. See the largest plans
- Compare it side-by-side against 3 similar Other plans in Illinois. Compare plans
- Northwestern University's sponsor-wide assets have grown 26.8% since 2022 across 3 plan years on file. More Educational Services plans