401(k) · DOL Form 5500 · 2024

Nelnet, Inc. 401(k) Plan

Data updated 2026-08-25

$755M
Total assets Above avg plan size
7,953
Participants Very large workforce
98th
Percentile by assets National rank
$94,972
Avg per participant Below avg balance/head
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Official DOL plan name: Nelnet 401(k) Plan · Sponsored by Nelnet, Inc. · Nebraska · Finance & Insurance

$755M in assets, 7,953 participants

Nelnet, Inc.'s Nelnet 401(k) Plan reported $755M in total assets and 7,953 participants in its 2024 DOL Form 5500 filing, ranking in the 98th 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.

  • #8,240 in Finance & Insurance (8,549 peers)

Coverage in Nebraska

Nelnet 401(k) Plan covers 7,953 participants in Nebraska, 14x the typical Nebraska plan (state average ~552 per filing). Assets: $755M.

#8,240
in Finance & Insurance (8,549 peers)
+12.0%
assets growth YoY
7.6×
vs typical plan assets (national mean)

Nelnet 401(k) Plan's outsized position by total assets

Nelnet 401(k) Plan vs every filed plan by assets

End-of-year total assets · plan year 2024 · DOL Form 5500

$755,309,231 Top 2% higher than 98% of 123,620 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 2024

Nelnet 401(k) Plan's large-plan peer group by participant headcount

Plan-year 2024 Form 5500 filings with a reported participant count, partitioned by headcount band, not by assets. Nelnet 401(k) Plan lands in the large band (7,953 participants).

What changed between DOL Form 5500 filings

plan year 2023 → plan year 2024

  • Nelnet 401(k) Plan reported net income fell from $114M in the plan year 2023 filing to $81M in the plan year 2024 filing.
  • Nelnet 401(k) Plan end-of-year assets rose from $674M in the plan year 2023 filing to $755M in the plan year 2024 filing.
  • Nelnet 401(k) Plan reported participants fell from 8,442 in the plan year 2023 filing to 7,953 in the plan year 2024 filing.

See the national 2023→2024 release diff →

EBSA filing schedule strip

Filing strip 840748903 · Nelnet, Inc. PY 2024 · 401(k)

Nelnet 401(k) Plan · $755M · 7,953 · 98th

  • VS-ST $755M
  • BOY 7,953
  • SCH 98th
  • EBSA 401(k)
  • PART near Federated Mutual Insurance Company 401(k) Plan
  • TYPE ind #8240

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 Finance & Insurance retirement plans → · Plans in Nebraska →

Nelnet 401(k) Plan in the asset neighbourhood

Westat, Inc. Savings Plan$757MHendrick Automotive Group 401(k) PlanHendrick Automotive Group 40…$757MFox Rothschild LLP Retirement Savings PlanFox Rothschild LLP Retiremen…$756MNelnet 401(k) Plan$755MFederated Mutual Insurance Company 401(k) PlanFederated Mutual Insurance C…$755M
End-of-year total assets ($M) among Nelnet 401(k) Plan and nearest nationwide 401(k) peers. Source: DOL Form 5500 plan year 2024.

Nebraska filing particulars

Total Assets (Beginning of Year)$674M
Net Assets (End of Year)$755M
Net Income$81M
Employer EIN840748903
Plan Effective Date1998-04-01
Filing StatusFILING RECEIVED

Sponsor Plan History (Nelnet, Inc.)

Sponsor-wide plan assets over time

All Nelnet, Inc. plans reported in each filing year

Latest sponsor-wide plan assets
$755M 35.711315879988554% vs 2022
2024 filing year
$500M$600M$700M$800M 202220232024 $557M $755M ▲ +35.7%
Year Plans Participants Total Assets
2022 1 6,977 $557M
2023 1 8,442 $674M
2024 1 7,953 $755M

Nearby 401(k) Plans in Nebraska

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

Nelnet 401(k) Plan vs. nearby 401(k) plans in Nebraska, assets vs. participants Scatter plot of 6 data points. 010000200003000040000 0246810 Total assets ($B) Participants Nelnet 401(k) Plan, Total assets ($B): 0.755309231 · Participants: 7953Nelnet 401(k) PlanHdr, Inc. Best Plan and ESOP, Total assets ($B): 7.698378085 · Participants: 11460Hdr, Inc. Best Plan and ESOPPeter Kiewit Sons, Inc. Retirement Savings Plan, Total assets ($B): 2.800326806 · Participants: 17030Peter Kiewit Sons, Inc. Retirement Savings PlanUnion Pacific Agreement Employee 401(k) Retirement Thrift Plan, Total assets ($B): 2.389799139 · Participants: 28813Union Pacific Agreement Employee 401(k) Retirement Thrift PlanUnion Pacific Corporation Thrift Plan, Total assets ($B): 2.304431309 · Participants: 5350Union Pacific Corporation Thrift PlanFirst National of Nebraska, Inc. First Savings Plan, Total assets ($B): 1.045428819 · Participants: 4950First National of Nebraska, Inc. First Savings Plan
Nelnet 401(k) Plan vs. nearby 401(k) plans in Nebraska, assets vs. participants
Compare Nelnet 401(k) Plan side-by-side with 3 peers →

Scale composition for Nelnet 401(k) Plan

Nelnet 401(k) Plan reports $755M in end-of-year assets across 7,953 participants (0.006% of the $12.3T held by all Form 5500 filers in the national rollup , and 0.008% of 93,925,755 covered participants) - about $94,972 per participant (69% of the national average assets-per-participant) . Net income for plan year 2024 was $81M.

This plan identity (EIN 840748903, plan #001) has 3 Form 5500 filings on file from 2022 to 2024 , with end-of-year assets moving from $557M to $755M (+35.7%) while covered participants moved from 6,977 to 7,953 . Single-year sparse filers cannot show that trail.

Plan year Participants EOY assets Filing
2022 6,977 $557M Open filing
2023 8,442 $674M Open filing
2024 · index core 7,953 $755M This page

Nelnet 401(k) Plan's out-of-state 401(k) peers by assets and headcount

Outside Nebraska, the nearest 401(k) by assets is Federated Mutual Insurance Company 401(k) Plan in MN ($755M); by covered participants it is Puget Sound Electrical Workers 401(k) Savings Plan in WA (7,951 participants). Same-state nearby plans are listed separately above.

Closest by plan assets

Nearest other-state filings by tot_assets_eoy ($755M here).

Similar participant headcount

Nearest other-state filings by covered participants (7,953 participants); asset peers above are excluded.

DOL Form 5500 plan year 2024. Asset totals can differ widely at the same headcount; neither axis is a quality rating.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Nelnet 401(k) Plan assets move in 2024? ▼
Nelnet 401(k) Plan grew at a solid clip - up 12.0% during 2024, from $674M to $755M. Reported net income was $81M.
How have Nelnet, Inc. plan assets changed over time? ▼
Across 3 plan years on file (2022-2024), Nelnet, Inc.'s sponsor-wide assets grew 35.7%, from $557M to $755M.
Where does Nelnet 401(k) Plan rank by assets among Form 5500 filers? ▼
Nelnet 401(k) Plan ranks in the 98th percentile by end-of-year assets among 123,622 plans that reported assets for plan year 2024 (in the top 5% of all filed plans by assets).
Which 401(k) plans are similar in size to Nelnet 401(k) Plan? ▼
Among 401(k) plans in other states, the closest by assets is Federated Mutual Insurance Company 401(k) Plan in MN ($755M, 2,920 participants).
Which 401(k) plans cover a similar participant headcount to Nelnet 401(k) Plan? ▼
Among 401(k) plans in other states, the closest by covered participants is Puget Sound Electrical Workers 401(k) Savings Plan in WA (7,951 participants, $622M in assets).

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Form 5500 public disclosure dataset. Plan year 2024.

Source: DOL EFAST2 filing system (efast.dol.gov) - original filing retrieval by EIN 840748903.

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.