Defined Benefit (Pension) · DOL Form 5500 · 2024

Essendant Co. Pension Plan

Data updated 2026-08-25

$56M
Total assets Below avg plan size
229
Participants Below avg headcount
85th
Percentile by assets National rank
$246,607
Avg per participant Above avg balance/head
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Official DOL plan name: Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan · Sponsored by Essendant Co. · Illinois · Wholesale Trade

$56M in assets, 229 participants

Essendant Co.'s Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan reported $56M in total assets and 229 participants in its 2024 DOL Form 5500 filing, ranking in the 85th 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.

  • #5,279 in Wholesale Trade (6,080 peers)

Coverage in Illinois

Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan covers 229 participants in Illinois, about 29% of the average Illinois filer (state average ~779 per filing). Assets: $56M.

#5,279
in Wholesale Trade (6,080 peers)
-0.9%
assets change YoY
0.6×
vs typical plan assets (national mean)

The plan reported a net loss of $539K for the year, a single-year figure driven by markets and benefit payments, not a measure of plan health.

Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan's outsized position by total assets

Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan vs every filed plan by assets

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

$56,472,897 Top 15% higher than 85% 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 Union Employees' 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 Union Employees' Pension Plan sits mid-pack in the medium band (229 participants).

What changed between DOL Form 5500 filings

plan year 2023 → plan year 2024

  • Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan reported net income rose from -$4M in the plan year 2023 filing to -$539K in the plan year 2024 filing.
  • Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan reported participants fell from 338 in the plan year 2023 filing to 229 in the plan year 2024 filing.
  • Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan end-of-year assets fell from $57M in the plan year 2023 filing to $56M in the plan year 2024 filing.

See the national 2023→2024 release diff →

EBSA filing schedule strip

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

Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan · $56M · 229 · 85th

  • EBSA $56M
  • EBSA 229
  • EBSA 85th
  • EBSA Defined Benefit (Pension)
  • EBSA near Philadelphia Corporation for Aging Pension Plan
  • EBSA ind #5279

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 Union Employees' Pension Plan in the asset neighbourhood

Retirement Plan for the Employees of Museum AssociatesRetirement Plan for the Empl…$57MPension Plan and Employees' Trust of Father Flanagan's Boys' HomePension Plan and Employees' …$57MEssendant Union Employees' Pension PlanEssendant Union Employees' P…$56MPhiladelphia Corporation for Aging Pension PlanPhiladelphia Corporation for…$56MFoodland Super Market, Ltd. Pension PlanFoodland Super Market, Ltd. …$56M
End-of-year total assets ($M) among Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan and nearest nationwide Defined Benefit (Pension) peers. Source: DOL Form 5500 plan year 2024.

Illinois filing particulars

Total Assets (Beginning of Year)$57M
Net Assets (End of Year)$56M
Net Income-$539K
Employer EIN362431718
Plan Effective Date1992-01-01
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 Union Employees' Pension Plan vs. nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in Illinois, assets vs. participants Scatter plot of 6 data points. -1000001000020000300004000050000 -200204060 Total assets ($B) Participants Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan, Total assets ($B): 0.056472897 · Participants: 229Essendant Union Employees' 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 Union Employees' Pension Plan vs. nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in Illinois, assets vs. participants
Compare Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan side-by-side with 3 peers →

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

Outside Illinois, the nearest Defined Benefit (Pension) by assets is Philadelphia Corporation for Aging Pension Plan in PA ($56M); by covered participants it is Hollingsworth & Vose Company Retirement Plan in MA (229 participants). Same-state nearby plans are listed separately above.

Similar participant headcount

Nearest other-state filings by covered participants (229 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 Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan assets move in 2024? ▼
Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan held essentially flat - down 0.9% during 2024, from $57M to $56M. Reported net income was -$539K.
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 Union Employees' Pension Plan rank by assets among Form 5500 filers? ▼
Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan ranks in the 85th 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 Union Employees' Pension Plan? ▼
Among Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in other states, the closest by assets is Philadelphia Corporation for Aging Pension Plan in PA ($56M, 302 participants).
Which Defined Benefit (Pension) plans cover a similar participant headcount to Essendant Union Employees' Pension Plan? ▼
Among Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in other states, the closest by covered participants is Hollingsworth & Vose Company Retirement Plan in MA (229 participants, $70M 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.