Employer · plans filed under one EIN
Discover Financial Services
Riverwoods, IL · Finance and insurance
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.
Discover Financial Services, based in Riverwoods, Illinois, sponsors 2 retirement plans with 100 or more participants: 1 defined contribution and 1 defined benefit. Together they reported 39,150 participant records and $3.69B in net assets.
The largest is Discover Financial Services 401(k) Plan, a 401(k) plan with 27,261 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 $131M and participant contributions $145M in the latest plan years; benefits paid were $244M. Schedule C compensation reported to service provider organisations totalled $4.6M.
Combined net assets moved from $693M in 2009 to $3.69B in 2024 (up 432%). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discover Financial Services 401(k) Plan | 401(k) plan | 2024 | 27,261 | $3.21B | $117,721 | $6,477 | $2.4M |
| Discover Financial Services Pension Plan | defined benefit pension plan | 2024 | 11,889 | $482M | $40,531 | — | $2.2M |
| 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 | 2 | 39,150 | $3.69B | $131M | $145M |
| 2023 | 2 | 39,708 | $3.27B | $125M | $131M |
| 2022 | 2 | 39,376 | $2.73B | $222M | $110M |
| 2021 | 2 | 35,336 | $3.14B | $95.6M | $104M |
| 2020 | 2 | 35,513 | $2.85B | $98.3M | $102M |
| 2019 | 2 | 35,886 | $2.41B | $86.6M | $88.6M |
| 2018 | 2 | 44,480 | $1.95B | $70.7M | $80.8M |
| 2017 | 2 | 44,300 | $2.04B | $149M | $71.2M |
| 2016 | 2 | 42,630 | $1.63B | $57.4M | $63.7M |
| 2015 | 2 | 41,390 | $1.48B | $55.8M | $61.8M |
| 2014 | 2 | 38,781 | $1.50B | $51.4M | $55.7M |
| 2013 | 2 | 36,403 | $1.33B | $47.7M | $51.3M |
| 2012 | 2 | 33,917 | $1.08B | $43.8M | $44.0M |
| 2011 | 2 | 31,388 | $885M | $37.9M | $37.2M |
| 2010 | 2 | 28,820 | $807M | $31.5M | $30.4M |
| 2009 | 2 | 28,270 | $693M | $35.2M | $31.7M |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Street Global Advisors | Custodial (other than securities); Custodial (securities) | 1 | $2,184,428 |
| Goldman Sachs Asset Management, LP | Investment management | 1 | $1,235,487 |
| Alight Solutions LLC | Recordkeeping and information management | 2 | $645,564 |
| Mercer Inc. | Actuarial; Consulting (general) | 1 | $264,598 |
| BNY Mellon | Trustee (bank, trust company, or similar financial institution) | 1 | $119,951 |
| JP Morgan Funds Services | Investment advisory (plan); Investment management | 1 | $115,550 |
| Loomis, Sayles & Company | Investment management | 1 | $45,779 |
| Invesco Stable Val | Investment advisory (participants) | 1 | $7,618 |
| Dimensional Funds Advisors LP | Investment advisory (plan); Investment management | 1 | $1,124 |
| Dodge and Cox | Investment management | 1 | $637 |
| Pimco | Investment advisory (plan) | 1 | $295 |
| SEI Trust Company - Rothschlid | Investment management | 1 | $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 Discover Financial Services have?
2 plans with 100 or more participants filed Form 5500 under its employer identification number for the latest plan years: Discover Financial Services 401(k) Plan and Discover Financial Services Pension Plan. Smaller plans and plans filed under a subsidiary's number are not grouped here.
How much does Discover Financial Services contribute to its plans?
$131,076,331 in employer contributions across these plans in their latest plan years, about $5,773 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 State Street Global Advisors, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, LP, Alight Solutions LLC and Mercer Inc. 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.