Employer · plans filed under one EIN
Merck & Co., Inc.
Rahway, NJ · Manufacturing
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.
4 retirement plans with 100 or more participants file Form 5500 under Merck & Co., Inc.'s employer identification number (Rahway, New Jersey). Their latest filings total 121,549 participant records and $26.3B in net assets.
The largest is Merck US Pension Plan, a cash balance pension plan with 71,380 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 $426M and participant contributions $671M in the latest plan years; benefits paid were $1.80B. Schedule C compensation reported to service provider organisations totalled $156K.
Combined net assets moved from $9.12B in 2009 to $26.3B in 2024 (up 188%). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merck US Pension Plan | cash balance pension plan | 2024 | 71,380 | $10.1B | $141,357 | $5,707 | $0 |
| Merck US Savings Plan | ESOP with a 401(k) feature | 2024 | 41,241 | $15.0B | $363,011 | $7,169 | $124K |
| Retirement Plan for the Hourly Employees of MSD | defined benefit pension plan | 2024 | 6,342 | $660M | $104,097 | $17,902 | $0 |
| MSD Employee Stock Purchase & Savings Plan | ESOP with a 401(k) feature | 2024 | 2,586 | $545M | $210,930 | $2,955 | $33K |
| 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 | 4 | 121,549 | $26.3B | $426M | $671M |
| 2023 | 4 | 120,344 | $24.8B | $199M | $592M |
| 2022 | 4 | 119,272 | $22.2B | $596M | $542M |
| 2021 | 4 | 117,621 | $28.5B | $372M | $493M |
| 2020 | 4 | 115,826 | $26.7B | $286M | $464M |
| 2019 | 4 | 113,577 | $23.8B | $225M | $422M |
| 2018 | 4 | 112,727 | $19.9B | $138M | $387M |
| 2017 | 4 | 111,656 | $22.1B | $431M | $351M |
| 2016 | 4 | 111,820 | $19.3B | $127M | $340M |
| 2015 | 4 | 113,747 | $18.3B | $124M | $341M |
| 2014 | 4 | 116,640 | $19.4B | $125M | $312M |
| 2013 | 4 | 95,444 | $16.2B | $140M | $344M |
| 2012 | 4 | 98,607 | $14.0B | $594M | $246M |
| 2011 | 4 | 85,483 | $10.1B | $108M | $254M |
| 2010 | 4 | 86,190 | $10.5B | $343M | $275M |
| 2009 | 4 | 86,740 | $9.12B | $459M | $248M |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fidelity Investments Institutional | Participant loan processing | 2 | $156,480 |
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 Merck & Co., Inc. have?
4 plans with 100 or more participants filed Form 5500 under its employer identification number for the latest plan years: Merck US Pension Plan, Merck US Savings Plan, Retirement Plan for the Hourly Employees of MSD and MSD Employee Stock Purchase & Savings Plan. Smaller plans and plans filed under a subsidiary's number are not grouped here.
How much does Merck & Co., Inc. contribute to its plans?
$425,745,119 in employer contributions across these plans in their latest plan years, about $6,842 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 Fidelity Investments Institutional. 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.