Employer · plans filed under one EIN
Ace Hardware Corporation
Oak Brook, IL · Other services
Form 5500 information is as filed by the plan administrator with the Department of Labor and may be amended. Figures reflect the plan year shown, not current balances.
Ace Hardware Corporation, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, sponsors 3 retirement plans with 100 or more participants: 3 defined contribution. Together they reported 23,157 participant records and $1.39B in net assets.
The largest is Ace Retail Savings Plan 401(k), a 401(k) plan with 11,052 participants. A person can be counted in more than one plan, so the participant total is a count of records rather than of people.
Employer contributions across the plans were $48.4M and participant contributions $50.1M in the latest plan years; benefits paid were $136M. Schedule C compensation reported to service provider organisations totalled $1.3M.
Combined net assets moved from $402M in 2010 to $1.39B in 2024 (up 246%). Plan mergers and spin-offs show up here as steps in the series.
Plans
| Plan | Kind | Plan year | Participants | Net assets | Per participant | Employer / active | Sch. C compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace Retail Savings Plan 401(k) | 401(k) plan | 2024 | 11,052 | $188M | $17,014 | $552 | $1.1M |
| Ace Hardware Corporation 401(k) Savings and Retirement Plan | 401(k) plan | 2024 | 10,783 | $1.15B | $106,872 | $5,851 | $159K |
| Ace Retirement Savings Plan | 401(k) plan | 2024 | 1,322 | $51.0M | $38,553 | $1,995 | $27K |
| US median, plan year 2024: DC plans $53,102 per participant, $2,175 employer contribution per active participant; DB plans $86,221 and $10,244. | |||||||
Trend by plan year
| Plan year | Plans | Participant records | Net assets | Employer contributions | Participant contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 | 23,157 | $1.39B | $48.4M | $50.1M |
| 2023 | 3 | 20,813 | $1.21B | $49.5M | $46.7M |
| 2022 | 2 | 19,522 | $1.01B | $50.0M | $42.5M |
| 2021 | 2 | 18,248 | $1.21B | $42.6M | $39.9M |
| 2020 | 2 | 16,204 | $1.06B | $45.1M | $32.6M |
| 2019 | 2 | 15,241 | $876M | $29.2M | $27.9M |
| 2018 | 2 | 12,631 | $712M | $24.2M | $25.5M |
| 2017 | 2 | 10,833 | $765M | $24.9M | $22.4M |
| 2016 | 2 | 9,608 | $654M | $24.2M | $21.2M |
| 2015 | 2 | 7,935 | $602M | $21.6M | $17.6M |
| 2014 | 1 | 5,407 | $574M | $20.1M | $15.0M |
| 2013 | 1 | 5,097 | $541M | $17.1M | $14.3M |
| 2012 | 1 | 4,979 | $462M | $17.0M | $14.1M |
| 2011 | 1 | 4,986 | $404M | $16.7M | $13.7M |
| 2010 | 1 | 5,018 | $402M | $14.2M | $13.2M |
History of the plans listed above, in the years each filed the full Form 5500 with 100 or more participants. Plans that have since terminated are not included.
Service providers
| Organisation | Services reported | Plans | Compensation reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transamerica Retirement Solutions | Recordkeeping and information management; Participant loan processing | 1 | $618,408 |
| Creative Planning | Investment advisory (plan) | 2 | $153,792 |
| Transamerica Financial Life | Recordkeeping and information management; Participant loan processing | 1 | $150,751 |
| Mesirow Financial | Investment advisory (plan) | 3 | $113,021 |
| Admin. Group, LLC DBA Tag Resources | Recordkeeping and information management; Participant loan processing | 1 | $102,338 |
| Creative Planning, LLC | Investment advisory (plan) | 1 | $61,000 |
| Ernst & Young LLP | Accounting (including auditing) | 1 | $37,150 |
| Templeton & Company | Accounting (including auditing) | 1 | $17,500 |
| Transamerica Trust Co. | Trustee (bank, trust company, or similar financial institution) | 1 | $250 |
| Fidelity Investments Institutional | Participant loan processing | 2 | $0 |
Organisations paid $5,000 or more by any of these plans, from Schedule C. Individuals are not shown.
Questions and answers
How many retirement plans does Ace Hardware Corporation have?
3 plans with 100 or more participants filed Form 5500 under its employer identification number for the latest plan years: Ace Retail Savings Plan 401(k), Ace Hardware Corporation 401(k) Savings and Retirement Plan and Ace Retirement Savings Plan. Smaller plans and plans filed under a subsidiary's number are not grouped here.
How much does Ace Hardware Corporation contribute to its plans?
$48,404,693 in employer contributions across these plans in their latest plan years, about $2,657 per active participant record. Form 5500 reports totals and not the match or accrual formula.
Who provides services to these plans?
Schedule C filings name Transamerica Retirement Solutions, Creative Planning, Transamerica Financial Life and Mesirow Financial and others. Only organisations paid $5,000 or more by a plan are listed on Schedule C.
Where does this come from?
Form 5500 annual reports filed with the Department of Labor's EFAST2 system, from the EBSA research files, with filings received through 24 Aug 2026. Figures are as filed and may be amended.
Provenance
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Form 5500 research files, public domain, with filings received through 24 Aug 2026. Plans are grouped by the sponsor's employer identification number exactly as filed; a company that files under several EINs appears as several employers. See the methodology and corrections.