Pennsylvania › Health care and social assistance › 25,000 or more participants
Form 5500 statement · plan year 1 Jan 2024 to 31 Dec 2024
Jefferson Defined Benefit Plan
Sponsored by Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA
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. Form 5500 contains no individual account balances. Look up the original filing at EFAST2.
Thomas Jefferson University of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania sponsors Jefferson Defined Benefit Plan, a defined benefit pension plan. Its Form 5500 for the plan year ending 31 Dec 2024 shows 25,167 participants (11,383 active) and $2.08B in net assets.
Net assets came to $82,681 per participant, below the $88,040 median for defined benefit plans with 25,000 or more participants and well above the $62,049 median for defined benefit plans in health care and social assistance. The figure is an average across everyone in the plan, including former employees with small balances; Form 5500 holds no individual account data.
Employer contributions were $38.3M for the year ($3,367 per active participant) and benefits paid were $214M. In a defined benefit plan the employer's contribution follows funding rules rather than a match formula, so it can swing widely from year to year.
Schedule C lists 5 service provider organisations paid $5,000 or more, with reported compensation of $5.5M: $219 per participant, well above the same-size median of $143. Administrative expenses charged to the plan were $8.3M. Schedule C does not capture every cost: fees netted from fund returns and fees the employer pays directly are outside it.
Across the filings on record, net assets went from $1.41B in 2018 to $2.08B in 2024 (up 48%), and participants from 23,656 to 25,167 (up 6%).
The independent accountant's opinion on the financial statements was unmodified (unqualified), from an audit whose scope was limited under ERISA section 103(a)(3)(C) to exclude investment information certified by a bank or insurer.
Compared with similar plans
| Measure | This plan | Same size | Same industry | All US DB plans |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net assets per participant | $82,681 | $88,040 | $62,049 | $86,221 |
| Employer contributions per active participant | $3,367 | $6,524 | $7,491 | $10,244 |
| Schedule C compensation per participant | $219 | $143 | $248 | $344 |
| Schedule C compensation, share of net assets | 0.27% | 0.26% | 0.39% | 0.42% |
| Administrative expenses per participant | $331 | $306 | $427 | $527 |
Peer columns are medians for plan year 2024 across defined benefit plans with 100 or more participants: 25,000 or more participants (215 plans), health care and social assistance (542) and all US plans (5,308). Fee medians cover plans that report an amount.
Trend by plan year
| Plan year | Participants | Net assets | Per participant | Employer contributions | Participant contributions | Schedule C compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 25,167 | $2.08B | $82,681 | $38.3M | — | $5.5M |
| 2023 | 17,647 | $1.63B | $92,505 | $27.7M | — | $3.4M |
| 2022 | 20,402 | $1.62B | $79,614 | $46.6M | — | $5.0M |
| 2021 | 22,511 | $1.98B | $87,843 | — | — | $3.8M |
| 2020 | 22,865 | $1.81B | $79,294 | $16.9M | — | $5.4M |
| 2018 | 23,656 | $1.41B | $59,627 | $48.5M | — | $2.8M |
Years in which the plan filed the full Form 5500 with 100 or more participants, from 2009. Plan year is the year in which the plan year began.
Statement for the year
- Net assets, beginning of year$1,632,444,456
- Employer contributions$38,327,274
- Participant contributions—
- Rollovers and other contributions—
- Total contributions$38,327,274
- Total income, including investment results$125,234,589
- Benefits paid$214,022,721
- Administrative expenses$8,319,211
- Total expenses$222,341,932
- Net income−$97,107,343
- Net transfers$545,500,114
- Net assets, end of year$2,080,837,227
Participants
- Active participants11,383
- Retired or separated, receiving benefits5,836
- Retired or separated, entitled to future benefits7,552
- Total participants, end of year25,167
Fees and service providers
| Organisation | Services reported | Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Russell Company | Investment management | $3,002,123 | $0 |
| Alright Holdings Company LLC | Consulting (general) | $1,555,835 | $0 |
| The Bank of New York Mellon | Custodial (securities) | $622,653 | $0 |
| Aon Consulting Inc. | Actuarial | $253,785 | $0 |
| Russell Trust Company | Investment management | $82,429 | $0 |
Schedule C, Part I line 2: providers that received $5,000 or more, with the form's own service codes. Individuals named on Schedule C (plan employees, individual trustees) are never shown and their compensation is excluded. Eligible indirect compensation disclosed by formula carries no dollar amount. See how to read Schedule C fees.
Administrative expenses on Schedule H
- Other administrative expenses$8,319,211
- Total administrative expenses$8,319,211
Investment structure
Assets at year end by Schedule H category. The form shows the kind of vehicle holding the money, not the funds on the menu.
- Other investments$1.92B · 92.4%
- Cash (interest and non-interest bearing)$81.4M · 3.9%
- Registered investment companies (mutual funds)$45.2M · 2.2%
- Receivables$30.8M · 1.5%
Audit and compliance answers, as filed
- Accountant's opinionUnmodified (unqualified)
- Audit scope limited under ERISA section 103(a)(3)(C)Yes
- Accounting firmWithumsmith+brown, PC
- Participant contributions reported as transmitted lateNo
- Covered by a fidelity bondYes, $10,000,000
- Blackout period during the year—
These are the plan administrator's own answers on Schedule H, Part IV. A reported late transmittal is the filer's disclosure of a timing lapse, usually corrected through the Department of Labor's voluntary program; the amount is the total involved, not a loss.
Plan characteristics
1ABenefits are primarily pay related
Codes entered on Form 5500 line 8a, with the labels from the official instructions. Business code 622000: Hospitals.
Other plans of Thomas Jefferson University
| Plan | Participants | Net assets |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Defined Contribution Retirement Plan | 31,847 | $2.79B |
Similar plans in Pennsylvania
| Plan | Sponsor | Participants | Net assets | Per participant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upmc Basic Retirement Plan | Upmc | 100,852 | $3.01B | $29,837 |
| University of Pennsylvania Health Sysytem Pension Plan | Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania | 23,429 | $2.84B | $121,311 |
| Main Line Health, Inc. Retirement Income Plan | Main Line Health, Inc. | 19,375 | $1.49B | $76,953 |
| Pension Fund for Hospital and Health Care Employees, Philadelphia and Vicinity | Pension Fund for Hospital and Health Care Employees | 10,841 | $352M | $32,512 |
| Lehigh Valley Health Network, Inc. Retirement Plan | Lehigh Valley Health Network, Inc. | 10,605 | $1.13B | $106,920 |
| The Wellspan Health System Merged Pension Plan | Wellspan Health | 7,634 | $984M | $128,957 |
Defined benefit plans in health care and social assistance closest in size.
Questions and answers
How big is Jefferson Defined Benefit Plan?
25,167 participants at the end of the plan year ending 31 Dec 2024, of whom 11,383 were active employees, with net assets of $2,080,837,227. Among defined benefit plans that places it in the 25,000 or more participants band, which held 215 plans in plan year 2024.
What does Thomas Jefferson University contribute per participant?
The filing reports $38,327,274 in employer contributions for the year, which is $3,367 per active participant; the median for plans of the same type and size was $6,524 in plan year 2024. Form 5500 reports the total only. It does not state the match formula, and the per-participant figure is an average, not any one person's contribution.
What fees does the plan pay and how do they compare?
Schedule C reports $5,516,825 in compensation to service provider organisations, $219 per participant or 0.27% of net assets. The same-size median among plans reporting any Schedule C compensation was $143 per participant. Administrative expenses on Schedule H were $8,319,211. Investment costs deducted inside mutual funds and other pooled vehicles are not itemised on Form 5500, so these figures are a floor rather than a full cost.
Who runs the plan?
The sponsor is Thomas Jefferson University. Investment advisory or management: Frank Russell Company and Russell Trust Company. Trustee or custodian: The Bank of New York Mellon. The financial statements were audited by Withumsmith+brown, PC. Form 5500 also names the plan administrator's signer and other individuals; this site publishes organisations only.
Was the audit opinion unqualified?
The filing reports an unmodified (unqualified) opinion from a limited-scope audit, in which the accountant did not audit investment information certified by a bank or insurance company. Unmodified (formerly "unqualified") is the standard clean opinion.
How current is this, and does it show my balance?
This is the Form 5500 for the plan year 1 Jan 2024 to 31 Dec 2024, received by the Department of Labor on 15 Oct 2025. Filings are due seven months after the plan year ends, or nine and a half with an extension, so the public record always runs a year or more behind. It contains plan-level totals only: no individual balances, contributions or names of participants exist in the data.
Provenance
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Form 5500 research files (Form 5500, Schedule H, Schedule C) for plan years 2009 to 2025, public domain, with filings received through 24 Aug 2026. This page shows the latest filing on record for EIN 23-1352651, plan 010, received 15 Oct 2025; an amended filing replaces it at the next build. Medians and percentiles are computed by this site; see the methodology. Report an error through corrections.