Defined Benefit (Pension) · DOL Form 5500 · 2024

Essendant Co. Pension Plan

Data updated 2026-08-25

$66M
Total assets Below avg plan size
631
Participants Below avg headcount
87th
Percentile by assets National rank
$104,068
Avg per participant Below avg balance/head
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Official DOL plan name: Essendant Pension Plan · Sponsored by Essendant Co. · Illinois · Wholesale Trade

$66M in assets, 631 participants

Essendant Co.'s Essendant Pension Plan reported $66M in total assets and 631 participants in its 2024 DOL Form 5500 filing, ranking in the 87th 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.

  • #5,369 in Wholesale Trade (6,080 peers)

Where Essendant Pension Plan sits by assets

Essendant Pension Plan sits in the top quartile of all filed plans by assets, $66M for 631 participants (~$104,068/participant), down 10.4% in 2024.

#5,369
in Wholesale Trade (6,080 peers)
-10.4%
assets change YoY
0.7×
vs typical plan assets (national mean)

The plan reported a net loss of $8M for the year, a single-year figure driven by markets and benefit payments, not a measure of plan health.

Essendant Pension Plan's outsized position by total assets

Essendant Pension Plan vs every filed plan by assets

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

$65,666,793 Top 13% higher than 87% 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

Essendant Pension Plan among mid-size filed plans by headcount

Plan-year 2024 Form 5500 filings with a reported participant count, partitioned by headcount band, not by assets. Essendant Pension Plan sits mid-pack in the medium band (631 participants).

What changed between DOL Form 5500 filings

plan year 2023 → plan year 2024

  • Essendant Pension Plan reported net income rose from -$13M in the plan year 2023 filing to -$8M in the plan year 2024 filing.
  • Essendant Pension Plan reported participants fell from 868 in the plan year 2023 filing to 631 in the plan year 2024 filing.
  • Essendant Pension Plan end-of-year assets fell from $73M in the plan year 2023 filing to $66M in the plan year 2024 filing.

See the national 2023→2024 release diff →

DOL schedule card

Filing strip 362431718 · Essendant Co. PY 2024 · Defined Benefit (Pension)

Essendant Pension Plan · $66M · 631 · 87th

  • PCT $66M
  • EIN 631
  • RANK 87th
  • PHOTO Defined Benefit (Pension)
  • IND near Conmed Corporation Retirement Pension Plan
  • EOY ind #5369

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 Wholesale Trade retirement plans → · Plans in Illinois →

Essendant Pension Plan in the asset neighbourhood

Essendant Pension Plan$66MConmed Corporation Retirement Pension PlanConmed Corporation Retiremen…$66MPearson Inc. Pension Plan$66MEarle M. Jorgensen Hourly Employees Pension PlanEarle M. Jorgensen Hourly Em…$66MSheet Metal 7 Zone 3 Pension FundSheet Metal 7 Zone 3 Pension…$66M
End-of-year total assets ($M) among Essendant Pension Plan and nearest nationwide Defined Benefit (Pension) peers. Source: DOL Form 5500 plan year 2024.

Scale-class filing particulars (2024)

Total Assets (Beginning of Year)$73M
Net Assets (End of Year)$66M
Net Income-$8M
Employer EIN362431718
Plan Effective Date1976-09-01
Filing StatusFILING RECEIVED

Sponsor Plan History (Essendant Co.)

Sponsor-wide plan assets over time

All Essendant Co. plans reported in each filing year

Latest sponsor-wide plan assets
$535M 2.9464882873080485% vs 2022
2024 filing year
$510M$520M$530M$540M$550M 202220232024 $519M $535M ▲ +2.9%
Year Plans Participants Total Assets
2022 3 4,642 $519M
2023 3 4,884 $540M
2024 3 4,027 $535M

Nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) Plans in Illinois

Peer Defined Benefit (Pension) plans, same state, same plan type, ranked by total assets.

Essendant Pension Plan vs. nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in Illinois, assets vs. participants Scatter plot of 6 data points. -1000001000020000300004000050000 -200204060 Total assets ($B) Participants Essendant Pension Plan, Total assets ($B): 0.065666793 · Participants: 631Essendant Pension PlanCentral States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Plan, Total assets ($B): 48.22071058 · Participants: 36799Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension PlanState Farm Insurance Companies Retirement Plan for United States Employees, Total assets ($B): 37.736369487 · Participants: 41619State Farm Insurance Companies Retirement Plan for United States EmployeesGE Healthcare Pension Plan, Total assets ($B): 13.74052931 · Participants: 5554GE Healthcare Pension PlanAbbott Laboratories Annuity Retirement Plan, Total assets ($B): 8.591907247 · Participants: 17875Abbott Laboratories Annuity Retirement PlanUnited Food & Commercial Workers Intl Union - Industry Pension Fund, Total assets ($B): 8.17675965 · Participants: 20984United Food & Commercial Workers Intl Union - Industry Pension Fund
Essendant Pension Plan vs. nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in Illinois, assets vs. participants
Compare Essendant Pension Plan side-by-side with 3 peers →

Essendant Pension Plan's out-of-state Defined Benefit (Pension) peers by assets and headcount

Outside Illinois, the nearest Defined Benefit (Pension) by assets is Conmed Corporation Retirement Pension Plan in FL ($66M); by covered participants it is Altec Industries, Inc. Associates' Pension Plan in AL (631 participants). Same-state nearby plans are listed separately above.

Closest by plan assets

Nearest other-state filings by tot_assets_eoy ($66M here).

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 Essendant Pension Plan assets move in 2024? ▼
Essendant Pension Plan pulled back noticeably - down 10.4% during 2024, from $73M to $66M. Reported net income was -$8M.
How have Essendant Co. plan assets changed over time? ▼
Across 3 plan years on file (2022-2024), Essendant Co.'s sponsor-wide assets grew 2.9%, from $519M to $535M.
Where does Essendant Pension Plan rank by assets among Form 5500 filers? ▼
Essendant Pension Plan ranks in the 87th percentile by end-of-year assets among 123,622 plans that reported assets for plan year 2024 (in the top quartile of all filed plans by assets).
Which Defined Benefit (Pension) plans are similar in size to Essendant Pension Plan? ▼
Among Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in other states, the closest by assets is Conmed Corporation Retirement Pension Plan in FL ($66M, 413 participants).
Which Defined Benefit (Pension) plans cover a similar participant headcount to Essendant Pension Plan? ▼
Among Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in other states, the closest by covered participants is Altec Industries, Inc. Associates' Pension Plan in AL (631 participants, $57M 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 362431718.

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.