Employer · plans filed under one EIN
Southwest Airlines Co.
Dallas, TX · 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.
3 retirement plans with 100 or more participants file Form 5500 under Southwest Airlines Co.'s employer identification number (Dallas, Texas). Their latest filings total 111,572 participant records and $30.5B in net assets.
The largest is Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan, a 401(k) plan with 87,150 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 $1.01B and participant contributions $726M in the latest plan years; benefits paid were $2.27B. Schedule C compensation reported to service provider organisations totalled $10.2M.
Combined net assets moved from $3.75B in 2009 to $18.9B in 2025 (up 404%). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan | 401(k) plan | 2025 | 87,150 | $18.9B | $216,487 | $6,237 | $3.6M |
| Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan | 401(k) plan | 2024 | 13,086 | $11.6B | $888,183 | $43,037 | $6.6M |
| Southwest Airlines Market-Based Cash Balance Plan | cash balance pension plan | 2024 | 11,336 | $40.8M | $3,598 | $3,600 | $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 | 1 | 87,150 | $18.9B | $468M | $484M |
| 2024 | 3 | 110,107 | $28.7B | $1.02B | $737M |
| 2023 | 2 | 88,680 | $19.0B | $682M | $604M |
| 2022 | 2 | 78,868 | $15.6B | $617M | $549M |
| 2021 | 2 | 67,809 | $18.4B | $554M | $490M |
| 2020 | 2 | 69,272 | $15.9B | $528M | $467M |
| 2019 | 2 | 70,965 | $14.6B | $551M | $490M |
| 2018 | 2 | 68,470 | $11.6B | $495M | $446M |
| 2017 | 2 | 64,639 | $11.7B | $463M | $425M |
| 2016 | 2 | 61,356 | $9.56B | $364M | $397M |
| 2015 | 2 | 58,868 | $8.42B | $301M | $362M |
| 2014 | 2 | 55,792 | $7.75B | $279M | $322M |
| 2013 | 2 | 51,790 | $7.04B | $250M | $292M |
| 2012 | 2 | 48,554 | $5.63B | $235M | $268M |
| 2011 | 2 | 44,816 | $4.68B | $217M | $248M |
| 2010 | 2 | 41,997 | $4.46B | $200M | $227M |
| 2009 | 2 | 40,888 | $3.75B | $167M | $212M |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empower Annuity Insurance Company | — | 1 | $3,143,080 |
| Smith Anglin Financial LLC | Investment advisory (participants) | 1 | $1,993,618 |
| Fisher Investments | Investment advisory (participants) | 1 | $716,470 |
| Total Investment Management in | Investment advisory (participants) | 1 | $521,575 |
| Schwab Retirement Plan Services,inc | Recordkeeping and information management | 1 | $371,728 |
| Mountain Capital Investment Ad | Investment advisory (participants) | 1 | $301,994 |
| Symphony Risk Solutions, LLC | Investment management | 1 | $258,306 |
| Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. | Investment advisory (participants); Securities brokerage | 2 | $228,179 |
| Act Wealth Management LLC | Investment advisory (participants) | 1 | $194,716 |
| Nepc LLC | Investment advisory (plan) | 1 | $189,597 |
| State Street Global Advisors Trust | Investment advisory (plan) | 1 | $125,000 |
| Hamilton Capital LLC | Investment advisory (participants) | 1 | $121,583 |
| CBIZ CPAS P.C. | Accounting (including auditing) | 1 | $120,085 |
| Creative Planning LLC | Investment advisory (participants) | 1 | $95,532 |
| Prudent Man Investment Managem | Investment advisory (participants) | 1 | $93,933 |
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 Southwest Airlines Co. have?
3 plans with 100 or more participants filed Form 5500 under its employer identification number for the latest plan years: Southwest Airlines Co. Retirement Savings Plan, Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan and Southwest Airlines Market-Based Cash Balance Plan. Smaller plans and plans filed under a subsidiary's number are not grouped here.
How much does Southwest Airlines Co. contribute to its plans?
$1,010,847,292 in employer contributions across these plans in their latest plan years, about $10,323 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 Empower Annuity Insurance Company, Smith Anglin Financial LLC, Fisher Investments and Total Investment Management in 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.