401(k) · DOL Form 5500 · 2024

Southwest Airlines Co. 401(k) Plan

Data updated 2026-08-06

$17.0B
Total assets
67,820
Participants
100th
Percentile by assets
$250,542
Avg per participant
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Official DOL plan name: Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan · Sponsored by Southwest Airlines Co. · Texas · Transportation & Warehousing

$17.0B in assets, 67,820 participants

Southwest Airlines Co.'s Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan reported $17.0B in total assets and 67,820 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.

  • 100th percentile by assets (of 116,472 plans)
  • #3,122 in Transportation & Warehousing (3,127 peers)

Coverage in Texas

Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan covers 67,820 participants in Texas, 96x the typical Texas plan (state average ~704 per filing). Assets: $17.0B.

$17.0B
total plan assets (2024 EOY)
67,820
covered participants
100th
percentile by assets (of 116,472 plans)
$250,542
avg assets per participant

What changed between DOL Form 5500 filings

plan year 2023 → plan year 2024

  • Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan end-of-year assets rose from $9.9B in the plan year 2023 filing to $17.0B in the plan year 2024 filing.
  • Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan reported net income fell from $1.9B in the plan year 2023 filing to $1.2B in the plan year 2024 filing.
  • Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan reported participants rose from 60,657 in the plan year 2023 filing to 67,820 in the plan year 2024 filing.

See the national 2023→2024 release diff →

Participants vs Texas filers

In Texas, the average filing covers about 704 participants across 9,718 plans. Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan reports 67,820 participants - 96x that state average ($17.0B EOY assets).

Texas filing particulars

Total Assets (Beginning of Year)$9.9B
Net Assets (End of Year)$17.0B
Net Income$1.2B
Employer EIN741563240
Plan Effective Date1991-01-01
Filing StatusFILING RECEIVED

Sponsor Plan History (Southwest Airlines Co.)

$20B$25B$30B 202220232024 $20.9B $28.7B ▲ +37.3%
Total plan assets by year, all Southwest Airlines Co. plans on file
Year Plans Participants Total Assets
2022 3 120,230 $20.9B
2023 3 141,844 $24.8B
2024 4 168,461 $28.7B

Nearby 401(k) Plans in Texas

Peer 401(k) plans, same state, same plan type, ranked by total assets.

Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan vs. nearby 401(k) plans in Texas, assets vs. participants

Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan vs. nearby 401(k) plans in Texas, assets vs. participants Scatter plot of 6 data points. 020000400006000080000100000120000 1020304050 Total assets ($B) Participants Southwest Airlines C…AT&T Retirement Savi…Exxonmobil Savings P…Chevron Employee Sav…Caterpillar 401(k) S…American Airlines, I…
Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan vs. nearby 401(k) plans in Texas, assets vs. participants

Scale composition for Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan

Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan reports $17.0B in end-of-year assets across 67,820 participants (0.15% of the $11.6T held by all Form 5500 filers in the national rollup , and 0.076% of 89,805,449 covered participants) - about $250,542 per participant (1.8x the national average assets-per-participant) . Net income for plan year 2024 was $1.2B.

This plan identity (EIN 741563240, plan #004) has 3 Form 5500 filings on file from 2022 to 2024 , with end-of-year assets moving from $8.0B to $17.0B (+112.6%) while covered participants moved from 50,590 to 67,820 . Single-year sparse filers cannot show that trail.

Plan year Participants EOY assets Filing
2022 50,590 $8.0B Open filing
2023 60,657 $9.9B Open filing
2024 · index core 67,820 $17.0B This page

The same sponsor also keeps 2 other index-core plans on PlainRetire:

Similar-Sized 401(k) Plans Nationally

401(k) plans in other states closest to Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan by total assets, not by location.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan assets move in 2024?
Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan surged - up 72.2% during 2024, from $9.9B to $17.0B. Reported net income was $1.2B.
How have Southwest Airlines Co. plan assets changed over time?
Across 3 plan years on file (2022-2024), Southwest Airlines Co.'s sponsor-wide assets grew 37.3%, from $20.9B to $28.7B.
Where does Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan rank by assets among Form 5500 filers?
Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan ranks in the 100th percentile by end-of-year assets among 116,472 plans that reported assets for plan year 2024 (among the largest 1% of all filed plans).
Which 401(k) plans are similar in size to Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan?
Among 401(k) plans in other states, the closest by assets is 401(k) Pension Plan in VA ($16.8B, 62,869 participants).

Next read for Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Saving…

Filing takeaways

Ways to act on Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan's numbers.