401(k) · DOL Form 5500 · 2024
Merck & Co., Inc. 401(k) Plan
Data updated 2026-08-25
- $15.0B
- Total assets Mega-plan scale
- 27,956
- Participants Very large workforce
- 100th
- Percentile by assets National rank
- $535,517
- Avg per participant High balance/head
Official DOL plan name: Merck US Savings Plan · Sponsored by Merck & Co., Inc. · New Jersey · Manufacturing
$15.0B in assets, 27,956 participants
Merck & Co., Inc.'s Merck US Savings Plan reported $15.0B in total assets and 27,956 participants in its 2024 DOL Form 5500 filing, ranking in the 100th 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.
- #17,748 in Manufacturing (17,777 peers)
Coverage in New Jersey
Merck US Savings Plan covers 27,956 participants in New Jersey, 33x the typical New Jersey plan (state average ~844 per filing). Assets: $15.0B.
- #17,748
- in Manufacturing (17,777 peers)
- +11.5%
- assets growth YoY
- 150×
- vs typical plan assets (national mean)
Merck US Savings Plan's outsized position by total assets
Merck US Savings Plan vs every filed plan by assets
End-of-year total assets · plan year 2024 · DOL Form 5500
$14,970,916,966 Highest reported value at or above every one 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
Merck US 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. Merck US Savings Plan is a mega filing (27,956 participants), the rightmost band on the breakdown.
What changed between DOL Form 5500 filings
plan year 2023 → plan year 2024
- Merck US Savings Plan reported net income fell from $1.9B in the plan year 2023 filing to $1.5B in the plan year 2024 filing.
- Merck US Savings Plan end-of-year assets rose from $13.4B in the plan year 2023 filing to $15.0B in the plan year 2024 filing.
- Merck US Savings Plan reported participants rose from 26,850 in the plan year 2023 filing to 27,956 in the plan year 2024 filing.
EBSA filing schedule strip
Filing strip 221918501 · Merck & Co., Inc. PY 2024 · 401(k)
Merck US Savings Plan · $15.0B · 27,956 · 100th
- BOOK $15.0B
- VS-ST 27,956
- BOY 100th
- SCH 401(k)
- EBSA near The Pepsico Savings Plan
- PART ind #17748
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 Manufacturing retirement plans → · Plans in New Jersey →
Merck US Savings Plan in the asset neighbourhood
New Jersey filing particulars
| Total Assets (Beginning of Year) | $13.4B |
|---|---|
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $15.0B |
| Net Income | $1.5B |
| Employer EIN | 221918501 |
| Plan Effective Date | 1959-07-01 |
| Filing Status | FILING RECEIVED |
Sponsor Plan History (Merck & Co., Inc.)
Sponsor-wide plan assets over time
All Merck & Co., Inc. plans reported in each filing year
- Latest sponsor-wide plan assets
- $26.3B 18.13047230036898% vs 2022
- 2024 filing year
| Year | Plans | Participants | Total Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4 | 55,803 | $22.2B |
| 2023 | 4 | 57,497 | $24.8B |
| 2024 | 4 | 59,874 | $26.3B |
Nearby 401(k) Plans in New Jersey
Peer 401(k) plans, same state, same plan type, ranked by total assets.
- JPMorgan Chase 401(k) Savings Plan $52.9B · 185,532
- Verizon Savings Plan for Management Employees $29.4B · 69,218
- Johnson and Johnson Savings Plan $23.6B · 42,583
- Ernst & Young Retirement Savings Plan $18.3B · 56,714
- Bristol-Myers Squibb Savings and Investment Program $11.6B · 21,763
Scale composition for Merck US Savings Plan
Merck US Savings Plan reports $15.0B in end-of-year assets across 27,956 participants (0.12% of the $12.3T held by all Form 5500 filers in the national rollup , and 0.030% of 93,925,755 covered participants) - about $535,517 per participant (3.9x the national average assets-per-participant) . Net income for plan year 2024 was $1.5B.
This plan identity (EIN 221918501, plan #001) has 3 Form 5500 filings on file from 2022 to 2024 , with end-of-year assets moving from $11.5B to $15.0B (+29.8%) while covered participants moved from 25,956 to 27,956 . Single-year sparse filers cannot show that trail.
| Plan year | Participants | EOY assets | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 25,956 | $11.5B | Open filing |
| 2023 | 26,850 | $13.4B | Open filing |
| 2024 · index core | 27,956 | $15.0B | This page |
The same sponsor also keeps 3 other index-core plans on PlainRetire:
- Merck US Pension Plan (Defined Benefit (Pension), $10.1B, 26,843 participants)
- Retirement Plan for the Hourly Employees of Msd (Defined Benefit (Pension), $660M, 2,880 participants)
- Msd Employee Stock Purchase & Savings Plan (401(k), $545M, 2,195 participants)
Merck US Savings Plan's out-of-state 401(k) peers by assets and headcount
Outside New Jersey, the nearest 401(k) by assets is The Pepsico Savings Plan in NY ($14.9B); by covered participants it is Aveanna Healthcare 401(k) Plan in GA (28,064 participants). Same-state nearby plans are listed separately above.
Closest by plan assets
Nearest other-state filings by tot_assets_eoy ($15.0B here).
- The Pepsico Savings Plan (NY) $14.9B · 137,398
- GE Aerospace Retirement Savings Plan (OH) $14.7B · 45,620
- Dell Inc. 401(k) Plan (TX) $14.7B · 40,874
- Walgreens Retirement Savings Plan (IL) $14.5B · 233,635
Similar participant headcount
Nearest other-state filings by covered participants (27,956 participants); asset peers above are excluded.
- Aveanna Healthcare 401(k) Plan (GA) 28,064 · 108 off
- Pilot Travel Centers LLC 401(k) Plan (TN) 28,109 · 153 off
- The Southern Company Employee Savings Plan (GA) 27,802 · 154 off
- Deferred Salary Plan of the Electrical Industry (NY) 27,777 · 179 off
DOL Form 5500 plan year 2024. Asset totals can differ widely at the same headcount; neither axis is a quality rating.