Defined Benefit (Pension) · DOL Form 5500 · 2024
Merck & Co., Inc. Pension Plan
Data updated 2026-08-25
- $10.1B
- Total assets Mega-plan scale
- 26,843
- Participants Very large workforce
- 100th
- Percentile by assets National rank
- $375,893
- Avg per participant High balance/head
Official DOL plan name: Merck US Pension Plan · Sponsored by Merck & Co., Inc. · New Jersey · Manufacturing
$10.1B in assets, 26,843 participants
Merck & Co., Inc.'s Merck US Pension Plan reported $10.1B in total assets and 26,843 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.
- #17,721 in Manufacturing (17,777 peers)
Coverage in New Jersey
Merck US Pension Plan covers 26,843 participants in New Jersey, 32x the typical New Jersey plan (state average ~844 per filing). Assets: $10.1B.
- #17,721
- in Manufacturing (17,777 peers)
- -1.3%
- assets change YoY
- 101×
- vs typical plan assets (national mean)
The plan reported a net loss of $135M for the year, a single-year figure driven by markets and benefit payments, not a measure of plan health.
Merck US Pension Plan's outsized position by total assets
Merck US Pension Plan vs every filed plan by assets
End-of-year total assets · plan year 2024 · DOL Form 5500
$10,090,083,286 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 Pension 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 Pension Plan is a mega filing (26,843 participants), the rightmost band on the breakdown.
What changed between DOL Form 5500 filings
plan year 2023 → plan year 2024
- Merck US Pension Plan reported net income fell from $655M in the plan year 2023 filing to -$135M in the plan year 2024 filing.
- Merck US Pension Plan reported participants rose from 25,223 in the plan year 2023 filing to 26,843 in the plan year 2024 filing.
- Merck US Pension Plan end-of-year assets fell from $10.2B in the plan year 2023 filing to $10.1B in the plan year 2024 filing.
Form 5500 schedule snapshot
Filing strip 221918501 · Merck & Co., Inc. PY 2024 · Defined Benefit (Pension)
Merck US Pension Plan · $10.1B · 26,843 · 100th
- BOY $10.1B
- BOY 26,843
- BOY 100th
- BOY Defined Benefit (Pension)
- BOY near The Citigroup Pension Plan
- BOY ind #17721
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 Pension Plan in the asset neighbourhood
New Jersey filing particulars
| Total Assets (Beginning of Year) | $10.2B |
|---|---|
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $10.1B |
| Net Income | -$135M |
| Employer EIN | 221918501 |
| Plan Effective Date | 1956-01-01 |
| 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 Defined Benefit (Pension) Plans in New Jersey
Peer Defined Benefit (Pension) plans, same state, same plan type, ranked by total assets.
- Retirement Plan of Johnson and Johnson $21.1B · 37,882
- JPMorgan Chase Retirement Plan $16.1B · 83,812
- Nokia Retirement Income Plan $12.9B · 7,280
- The Prudential Merged Retirement Plan $12.0B · 16,233
- Metlife Retirement Plan $7.9B · 13,263
Scale composition for Merck US Pension Plan
Merck US Pension Plan reports $10.1B in end-of-year assets across 26,843 participants (0.082% of the $12.3T held by all Form 5500 filers in the national rollup , and 0.029% of 93,925,755 covered participants) - about $375,893 per participant (2.7x the national average assets-per-participant) . Net income for plan year 2024 was -$135M.
This plan identity (EIN 221918501, plan #003) has 3 Form 5500 filings on file from 2022 to 2024 , with end-of-year assets moving from $9.6B to $10.1B (+5.4%) while covered participants moved from 23,981 to 26,843 . Single-year sparse filers cannot show that trail.
| Plan year | Participants | EOY assets | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 23,981 | $9.6B | Open filing |
| 2023 | 25,223 | $10.2B | Open filing |
| 2024 · index core | 26,843 | $10.1B | This page |
The same sponsor also keeps 3 other index-core plans on PlainRetire:
- Merck US Savings Plan (401(k), $15.0B, 27,956 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 Pension Plan's out-of-state Defined Benefit (Pension) peers by assets and headcount
Outside New Jersey, the nearest Defined Benefit (Pension) by assets is The Citigroup Pension Plan in CT ($10.0B); by covered participants it is Northwell Health Pension Plan in NY (26,950 participants). Same-state nearby plans are listed separately above.
Closest by plan assets
Nearest other-state filings by tot_assets_eoy ($10.1B here).
- The Citigroup Pension Plan (CT) $10.0B · 15,906
- Pfizer Consolidated Pension Plan (NY) $10.0B · 8,876
- Fca US LLC UAW Pension Agreement (MI) $10.3B · 12,752
- Pension and Retirement Plan (DE) $10.4B · 2,351
Similar participant headcount
Nearest other-state filings by covered participants (26,843 participants); asset peers above are excluded.
- Northwell Health Pension Plan (NY) 26,950 · 107 off
- Intermountain Healthcare Pension Plan (UT) 26,724 · 119 off
- Adjustable Plan of the National Retirement Fund (NY) 27,139 · 296 off
- The Travelers Pension Plan (MN) 27,237 · 394 off
DOL Form 5500 plan year 2024. Asset totals can differ widely at the same headcount; neither axis is a quality rating.