Employer · plans filed under one EIN
Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Atlanta, GA · Transportation and warehousing
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.
10 retirement plans with 100 or more participants file Form 5500 under Delta Air Lines, Inc.'s employer identification number (Atlanta, Georgia). Their latest filings total 288,667 participant records and $51.4B in net assets.
The largest is Delta 401(k) Retirement Plan, a 401(k) plan with 112,027 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 $1.63B and participant contributions $1.05B in the latest plan years; benefits paid were $3.66B. Schedule C compensation reported to service provider organisations totalled $21.4M.
Combined net assets moved from $14.6B in 2009 to $51.4B in 2024 (up 253%). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta 401(k) Retirement Plan | 401(k) plan | 2024 | 112,027 | $19.0B | $169,469 | $6,730 | $11.9M |
| Delta Retirement Plan | cash balance pension plan | 2024 | 81,907 | $7.25B | $88,455 | — | $1.4M |
| Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Contract Employees | defined benefit pension plan | 2024 | 42,802 | $3.95B | $92,345 | $2,189 | $384K |
| Delta 401(k) Retirement Plan for Pilots | 401(k) plan | 2024 | 17,776 | $15.9B | $896,057 | $49,209 | $7.2M |
| Delta Air Lines, Inc. Market Based Cash Balance Plan | cash balance pension plan | 2024 | 14,972 | $357M | $23,823 | $17,179 | $0 |
| Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees | defined benefit pension plan | 2024 | 7,452 | $4.51B | $604,572 | $14,251 | $177K |
| Delta 401(k) Retirement Plan for Seasonal Employees | 401(k) plan | 2024 | 5,942 | $42.5M | $7,154 | $463 | $171K |
| Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Salaried Employees | cash balance pension plan | 2024 | 4,175 | $219M | $52,542 | $4,199 | $172K |
| Delta 401(k) Retirement Plan for Subsidiaries | 401(k) plan | 2024 | 1,460 | $114M | $78,418 | $3,805 | $61K |
| The Delta 401(k) Retirement Plan - Puerto Rico | 401(k) plan | 2024 | 154 | $8.1M | $52,438 | $4,443 | $9,811 |
| 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 | 10 | 288,667 | $51.4B | $1.63B | $1.05B |
| 2023 | 10 | 288,944 | $46.0B | $1.30B | $923M |
| 2022 | 9 | 269,681 | $40.2B | $919M | $733M |
| 2021 | 9 | 261,840 | $46.7B | $792M | $610M |
| 2020 | 9 | 256,522 | $45.9B | $1.57B | $738M |
| 2019 | 8 | 259,027 | $41.2B | $1.62B | $835M |
| 2018 | 8 | 263,205 | $36.6B | $1.74B | $783M |
| 2017 | 6 | 208,507 | $28.8B | $1.02B | $731M |
| 2016 | 6 | 251,723 | $32.1B | $3.32B | $721M |
| 2015 | 6 | 251,629 | $27.6B | $3.58B | $569M |
| 2014 | 6 | 240,331 | $24.9B | $1.75B | $496M |
| 2013 | 6 | 243,404 | $21.8B | $1.34B | $434M |
| 2012 | 6 | 254,626 | $18.7B | $874M | $372M |
| 2011 | 6 | 238,585 | $16.3B | $843M | $303M |
| 2010 | 6 | 243,918 | $16.2B | $726M | $288M |
| 2009 | 6 | 234,279 | $14.6B | $855M | $214M |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Engines | Investment advisory (plan) | 4 | $11,255,172 |
| Allworth Financial | Investment advisory (participants) | 2 | $2,518,518 |
| Fidelity Investments Institutional | Recordkeeping and information management; Participant loan processing | 3 | $2,472,111 |
| Conduent | Contract Administrator | 4 | $1,545,487 |
| American Financial Advisors | Investment advisory (participants) | 2 | $720,190 |
| Willis Towers Watson | Actuarial | 4 | $465,520 |
| Creative Planning | Investment advisory (participants) | 2 | $402,970 |
| Fisher Investments | Investment advisory (participants) | 2 | $374,744 |
| Total Investment Management | Investment advisory (participants) | 2 | $279,769 |
| Smith Anglin Financial | Investment advisory (participants) | 1 | $247,607 |
| Apollon Wealth Management, LLC | Investment advisory (participants) | 1 | $211,559 |
| BDO USA, P.C. | Accounting (including auditing) | 7 | $195,532 |
| Signaturefd, LLC | Investment advisory (participants) | 2 | $97,914 |
| Symphony Financial, Ltd. Co. | Investment advisory (participants) | 1 | $73,424 |
| Capital Investment Advisors | Investment advisory (participants) | 1 | $48,999 |
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 Delta Air Lines, Inc. have?
10 plans with 100 or more participants filed Form 5500 under its employer identification number for the latest plan years: Delta 401(k) Retirement Plan, Delta Retirement Plan, Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Contract Employees and Delta 401(k) Retirement Plan for Pilots and others. Smaller plans and plans filed under a subsidiary's number are not grouped here.
How much does Delta Air Lines, Inc. contribute to its plans?
$1,633,214,705 in employer contributions across these plans in their latest plan years, about $11,211 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 Financial Engines, Allworth Financial, Fidelity Investments Institutional and Conduent 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.