State retirement profile · Form 5500

Retirement Plans in Iowa

According to DOL Form 5500 filings (plan year 2024), employer-sponsored 401(k), pension, and other retirement plans headquartered in Iowa report the totals below.

Data updated 2026-08-25

1,246
Plans
$79.7B
Total assets
#27
By assets

$79.7B across 1,246 plans

According to DOL Form 5500 filings (plan year 2024), Iowa has 1,246 employer-sponsored retirement plans holding $79.7B in total assets for 758,805 participants, ranking 27th nationally by plan assets, with 74% structured as 401(k)s and an average of $64M per plan.

  • 27th nationally by plan assets
  • 74% 401(k) plans

The state in one line

Iowa hosts 1,246 employer-sponsored retirement plans holding $79.7B for 758,805 participants, the 27th-largest state by plan assets.

$79.7B
total plan assets
1,246
employer plans
$105,088
avg assets per participant
74%
of plans are 401(k)s
401(k) Plans
919
Participants
758,805

What the Form 5500 Data Shows for Iowa

Iowa: 1,246 employer-sponsored plans (919 401(k)), $79.7B aggregate assets, 758,805 participants. Average plan: $64M; largest is The Principal Select Savings Plan at $4.6B. Leading sector by assets: Finance & Insurance (25%). These figures aggregate the 1,246 Form 5500 filings Iowa sponsors submitted for plan year 2024, counted by sponsor headquarters rather than participant residence; a plan administered in Iowa can cover workers across several states, and the methodology page details that HQ-vs-residence distinction. DOL Form 5500 methodology + HQ-vs-residence caveats →

Finance & Insurance leads Iowa plan assets (25%)

Among plans headquartered here, Finance & Insurance accounts for $19.8B across 130 filings, ahead of Utilities at $12.1B. Sector mix is a Form 5500-derived signal: it reflects where sponsors file from, not where every participant lives.

DOL Form 5500 plan year 2024

Iowa hosts 117 ESOP filings

Employee Stock Ownership Plans here hold $5.4B. ESOP density is uneven across states; when the count clears a meaningful floor, the ESOP ranking and industry pages are the better drill-downs than a 401(k)-only read.

DOL Form 5500 plan year 2024

Where Iowa sits in the Form 5500 corpus

Iowa sits mid-pack by plan assets (#27 of 56). Peer states with similar totals are the fairest comparison set; national leaders will dominate any unfiltered ranking.

DOL Form 5500 plan year 2024

Iowa's place in the national asset distribution

All states with reported Form 5500 plan assets · plan year 2024

$79,741,551,002 Top 46% higher than 54% of 56 states with reported plan assets

Iowa $0 $1,324,371,844,360 state retirement-plan assets, bucketed by value

Dashed line + filled bar = this entry, among states with reported plan assets.

Source U.S. Department of Labor, EBSA Form 5500 public disclosure dataset · plan year 2024

Iowa's retirement-plan mix

1. 401(k)9192. ESOP1173. Profit Sharing884. Other575. Defined Benefit (Pension)54
The five most common Form 5500 plan types among sponsors headquartered in Iowa. This count describes filings, not participants or assets.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, EBSA Form 5500 public disclosure dataset · plan year 2024.

Industry mix in Iowa

Top sectors by Form 5500 plan assets for sponsors headquartered here (plan year 2024).

Industry Plans Assets
Finance & Insurance 130 $19.8B
Utilities 13 $12.1B
Manufacturing 196 $10.5B
Professional & Technical Services 156 $7.8B
Healthcare & Social Assistance 159 $7.5B

Largest Plans in Iowa

# Plan Name Type Participants Total Assets
1 The Principal Select Savings Plan 401(k) 12,841 $4.6B
2 The Rsm US LLP Retirement Plan 401(k) 14,728 $3.4B
3 Iowa Health System Section 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan 401(k) 25,072 $3.3B
4 The Hy-Vee and Affiliates 401(k) Plan 401(k) 55,411 $3.1B
5 Transamerica 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan 401(k) 8,059 $2.7B
6 Transamerica Pension Plan Defined Benefit (Pension) 7,170 $2.2B
7 Midamerican Energy Company Retirement Savings Plan 401(k) 6,813 $2.0B
8 Midamerican Energy Company Retirement Savings Plan 401(k) 4,964 $1.6B
9 Hni Corporation 401(k) Plan 401(k) 5,550 $1.5B
10 Principal Cash Balance Plan Defined Benefit (Pension) 11,945 $1.5B
11 Midamerican Energy Company Retirement Savings Plan 401(k) 5,055 $1.4B
12 Midamerican Energy Company Retirement Savings Plan 401(k) 5,052 $1.3B
13 Midamerican Energy Company Retirement Savings Plan 401(k) 4,976 $1.1B
14 Midamerican Energy Company Retirement Savings Plan 401(k) 4,976 $1.1B
15 Midamerican Energy Company Retirement Savings Plan 401(k) 5,056 $1.0B
16 Midamerican Energy Company Retirement Savings Plan 401(k) 5,020 $1.0B
17 Thrivewise Pooled Employer Plan 401(k) 8,111 $997M
18 Midamerican Energy Company Retirement Savings Plan 401(k) 5,086 $964M
19 Employee Owned Brands, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan ESOP 819 $877M
20 Van Meter Industrial, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan ESOP 849 $659M
21 Principal Ease 401(k) Plan 401(k) 121,032 $651M
22 Iaicu Multiple Employer Plan Other 2,554 $621M
23 Danfoss USA Savings Plan 401(k) 3,478 $564M
24 Employers Mutual Casualty Company 401(k) Savings Plan 401(k) 2,204 $555M
25 Kent Corporation Retirement Plan 401(k) 1,804 $553M

Nearby States by Retirement Plan Footprint

States ranked adjacent to Iowa by total retirement plan assets.

Compare Iowa side-by-side with 3 peer states →

Nationwide states with similar retirement plan scale

Two DOL Form 5500-derived peer sets for Iowa, each a different nationwide metric so the neighborhoods are not geographic containment (the asset-ranked nearby list above stays regional).

Similar plan count

Nearest other states by reported employer plan filings (1,246 here).

Oklahoma 1,268 plans Utah 1,280 plans Kentucky 1,300 plans Kansas 1,174 plans

Similar total assets

Nearest other states by aggregate plan assets ($79.7B here).

Arkansas $78.9B Colorado $88.7B Oregon $91.0B Arizona $94.3B

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the largest retirement plan headquartered in Iowa? ▼
The largest Form 5500 filing by assets with a headquarters address in Iowa is The Principal Select Savings Plan ($4.6B, 12,841 participants).
Which industry leads Iowa retirement plan assets? ▼
Finance & Insurance leads with $19.8B across 130 plans headquartered here (25% of state plan assets).
How does Iowa compare to other states for retirement plans? ▼
Iowa sits mid-pack by plan assets (#27 of 56). Peer states with similar totals are the fairest comparison set; national leaders will dominate any unfiltered ranking.

Next read for Iowa

Industry-mix reading

Ways to act on Iowa's numbers.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, EBSA Form 5500 public disclosure dataset. Shows the top 25 plans by total assets headquartered in Iowa, out of 130,145 ERISA-covered plans nationally. Plan year 2024.

Source: DOL EFAST2 filing system (efast.dol.gov) - state is the plan sponsor's headquarters state as recorded on the Form 5500 filing.

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.