Employer · plans filed under one EIN
Packaging Corporation of America
Lake Forest, IL · 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.
5 retirement plans with 100 or more participants file Form 5500 under Packaging Corporation of America's employer identification number (Lake Forest, Illinois). Their latest filings total 35,009 participant records and $4.33B in net assets.
The largest is Packaging Corporation of America Thrift Plan for Hourly Employees, an ESOP with a 401(k) feature with 15,621 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 $100M and participant contributions $110M in the latest plan years; benefits paid were $363M. Schedule C compensation reported to service provider organisations totalled $2.8M.
Combined net assets moved from $504M in 2009 to $3.20B in 2025 (up 535%). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packaging Corporation of America Thrift Plan for Hourly Employees | ESOP with a 401(k) feature | 2025 | 15,621 | $1.50B | $96,254 | $4,974 | $1.5M |
| Packaging Corporation of America Hourly Pension Plan | defined benefit pension plan | 2024 | 7,436 | $352M | $47,288 | — | $0 |
| Packaging Corporation of America Retirement Savings Plan for Salaried Employees | ESOP with a 401(k) feature | 2025 | 6,082 | $1.70B | $278,979 | $8,552 | $1.3M |
| Boise Paper Holdings, L.L.C. Consolidated Pension Plan | defined benefit pension plan | 2024 | 4,523 | $497M | $109,880 | — | $0 |
| Packaging Corporation of America Pension Plan for Eligible Grandfathered Salaried Employees | defined benefit pension plan | 2024 | 1,347 | $285M | $211,441 | — | $0 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 21,703 | $3.20B | $100M | $110M |
| 2024 | 5 | 34,107 | $3.99B | $96.1M | $103M |
| 2023 | 5 | 32,827 | $3.71B | $114M | $96.6M |
| 2022 | 5 | 33,125 | $3.26B | $135M | $95.8M |
| 2021 | 5 | 30,087 | $3.52B | $131M | $93.5M |
| 2020 | 5 | 29,318 | $3.22B | $126M | $88.0M |
| 2019 | 5 | 25,364 | $2.29B | $135M | $64.6M |
| 2018 | 3 | 11,213 | $532M | $50.6M | $0 |
| 2017 | 3 | 11,477 | $533M | $19.6M | $0 |
| 2016 | 4 | 20,693 | $1.20B | $86.1M | $38.6M |
| 2015 | 4 | 19,241 | $1.04B | $74.6M | $34.0M |
| 2014 | 4 | 18,224 | $1.01B | $20.4M | $30.7M |
| 2013 | 4 | 17,891 | $930M | $16.6M | $27.5M |
| 2012 | 4 | 17,446 | $781M | $44.6M | $25.6M |
| 2011 | 4 | 17,152 | $652M | $61.7M | $24.3M |
| 2010 | 4 | 16,363 | $594M | $36.6M | $22.7M |
| 2009 | 4 | 16,196 | $504M | $26.5M | $21.7M |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alight Financial Solutions, LLC | Actuarial; Securities brokerage; Recordkeeping and information management; Investment advisory (participants) | 2 | $1,458,741 |
| Packaging Corporation of America | Plan Administrator | 2 | $1,020,076 |
| State Street Bank & Trust Co. | Investment management | 2 | $196,400 |
| Pershing LLC | — | 2 | $68,757 |
| Northern Trust Investments Inc. | Investment management | 2 | $27,749 |
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 Packaging Corporation of America have?
5 plans with 100 or more participants filed Form 5500 under its employer identification number for the latest plan years: Packaging Corporation of America Thrift Plan for Hourly Employees, Packaging Corporation of America Hourly Pension Plan, Packaging Corporation of America Retirement Savings Plan for Salaried Employees and Boise Paper Holdings, L.L.C. Consolidated Pension Plan and others. Smaller plans and plans filed under a subsidiary's number are not grouped here.
How much does Packaging Corporation of America contribute to its plans?
$100,188,038 in employer contributions across these plans in their latest plan years, about $4,814 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 Alight Financial Solutions, LLC, Packaging Corporation of America, State Street Bank & Trust Co. and Pershing LLC 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.