Maryland › Finance and insurance › 1,000 to 4,999 participants
Form 5500 statement · plan year 1 Jan 2024 to 31 Dec 2024
Carefirst, Inc. Retirement Plan
Sponsored by Carefirst, Inc., Owings Mills, MD
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.
In the plan year ending 31 Dec 2024, Carefirst, Inc. Retirement Plan covered 4,512 participants and held $545M in net assets. The plan is a cash balance pension plan sponsored by Carefirst, Inc. of Owings Mills, Maryland.
Net assets came to $120,834 per participant, well above the $87,935 median for defined benefit plans with 1,000 to 4,999 participants and close to the $119,983 median for defined benefit plans in finance and insurance. The figure is an average across everyone in the plan, including former employees with small balances; Form 5500 holds no individual account data.
Schedule C lists 10 service provider organisations paid $5,000 or more, with reported compensation of $2.9M: $645 per participant, well above the same-size median of $325. Administrative expenses charged to the plan were $2.9M. 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 $538M in 2010 to $545M in 2024 (up 1%), and participants from 8,680 to 4,512 (down 48%).
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 | $120,834 | $87,935 | $119,983 | $86,221 |
| Employer contributions per active participant | — | $10,593 | $7,849 | $10,244 |
| Schedule C compensation per participant | $645 | $325 | $352 | $344 |
| Schedule C compensation, share of net assets | 0.53% | 0.41% | 0.32% | 0.42% |
| Administrative expenses per participant | $646 | $513 | $433 | $527 |
Peer columns are medians for plan year 2024 across defined benefit plans with 100 or more participants: 1,000 to 4,999 participants (1,540 plans), finance and insurance (690) 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 | 4,512 | $545M | $120,834 | — | — | $2.9M |
| 2023 | 4,682 | $573M | $122,290 | $5.4M | — | $3.1M |
| 2022 | 4,822 | $572M | $118,564 | — | — | $2.5M |
| 2021 | 5,035 | $757M | $150,437 | — | — | $3.1M |
| 2020 | 5,254 | $773M | $147,102 | — | — | $2.9M |
| 2019 | 5,432 | $727M | $133,847 | — | — | $2.5M |
| 2018 | 5,616 | $666M | $118,581 | $19.5M | — | $3.1M |
| 2017 | 5,775 | $716M | $123,980 | — | — | $3.6M |
| 2016 | 6,169 | $673M | $109,014 | $10.1M | — | $3.5M |
| 2015 | 6,368 | $647M | $101,645 | — | — | $3.8M |
| 2014 | 6,585 | $694M | $105,361 | — | — | $3.3M |
| 2013 | 7,713 | $702M | $91,021 | — | — | $3.5M |
| 2012 | 8,045 | $642M | $79,792 | $8.0M | — | $3.5M |
| 2011 | 8,343 | $584M | $69,965 | $89.4M | — | $2.6M |
| 2010 | 8,680 | $538M | $61,967 | $8.0M | — | $2.7M |
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$572,564,000
- Employer contributions—
- Participant contributions—
- Rollovers and other contributions—
- Total contributions$0
- Total income, including investment results$24,780,000
- Benefits paid$49,228,000
- Administrative expenses$2,914,000
- Total expenses$52,142,000
- Net income−$27,362,000
- Net transfers$0
- Net assets, end of year$545,202,000
Participants
- Active participants1,394
- Retired or separated, receiving benefits1,800
- Retired or separated, entitled to future benefits1,116
- Total participants, end of year4,512
Fees and service providers
| Organisation | Services reported | Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aon Consulting, Inc. | Actuarial | $1,263,200 | $0 |
| Hood River Capital Management | Investment management | $321,656 | $0 |
| Silchester | Investment management | $315,956 | $0 |
| Dodge and Cox | Investment management | $308,508 | $0 |
| T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | Investment management | $290,489 | $0 |
| State Street Bank & Trust Co. | Trustee (bank, trust company, or similar financial institution) | $199,347 | $0 |
| Franklin Templeton Institutional | Investment management | $81,901 | $0 |
| State Street Global Advisors | Custodial (other than securities); Custodial (securities) | $52,233 | $0 |
| Callan Associate, Inc. | Investment management | $51,167 | $0 |
| Morneau Shepell Limited | Recordkeeping and information management | $24,899 | $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
- Investment advisory and management fees$1,370,000
- Actuarial fees$1,263,000
- Trustee and custodial fees$252,000
- Recordkeeping fees$25,000
- Other administrative expenses$2,000
- Legal fees$2,000
- Total administrative expenses$2,914,000
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.
- U.S. Government securities$193M · 35.4%
- Corporate stocks$157M · 28.8%
- Corporate debt instruments$134M · 24.5%
- Common/collective trusts$25.3M · 4.6%
- Other investments$24.4M · 4.5%
- Cash (interest and non-interest bearing)$8.7M · 1.6%
- Receivables$3.3M · 0.6%
Audit and compliance answers, as filed
- Accountant's opinionUnmodified (unqualified)
- Audit scope limited under ERISA section 103(a)(3)(C)Yes
- Accounting firmSB & Company, LLC
- Participant contributions reported as transmitted lateNo
- Covered by a fidelity bondYes, $5,000,000
- 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 related1CCash balance or similar plan1IFrozen plan3HPlan sponsor(s) is (are) a member(s) of a controlled group
Codes entered on Form 5500 line 8a, with the labels from the official instructions. Business code 524140: Direct Life, Health, & Medical Insurance Carriers.
Other plans of Carefirst, Inc.
| Plan | Participants | Net assets |
|---|---|---|
| The Carefirst 401(k) Plan | 8,238 | $1.07B |
Similar plans in Maryland
| Plan | Sponsor | Participants | Net assets | Per participant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Assn Full-Time Sal Off & Emp of Locl Unions Councils, ST & Prov Pen Plan | U a Local Union Officers & Employees Pension Fund | 5,864 | $1.26B | $215,463 |
| Laborers District Council Pension and Disability Trust Fund No. 2 | Laborers District Council Pension and Disability Trust Fund No. 2 | 4,494 | $146M | $32,521 |
| UFCW Unions and Participating Employers Pension Plan | Board of Trustees the UFCW Unions and Participating Employers Pension | 11,636 | $94.1M | $8,090 |
| Operating Engineers Pension Trust Fund of Washington D.C. and Vicinity | Board of Trustees, Operating Engineers Pension Trust Fund of Washingto | 2,896 | $203M | $70,086 |
| Ufcw-Giant Variable Annuity Fund | Board of Trustees Ufcw-Giant Variable Annuity Fund | 12,031 | $52.2M | $4,339 |
| Tower Federal Credit Union Retirement Plan | Tower Federal Credit Union | 840 | $108M | $128,620 |
Defined benefit plans in finance and insurance closest in size.
Questions and answers
How big is Carefirst, Inc. Retirement Plan?
4,512 participants at the end of the plan year ending 31 Dec 2024, of whom 1,394 were active employees, with net assets of $545,202,000. Among defined benefit plans that places it in the 1,000 to 4,999 participants band, which held 1,540 plans in plan year 2024.
What does Carefirst, Inc. contribute per participant?
This filing has no Schedule H financial statement, so employer contributions are not reported here.
What fees does the plan pay and how do they compare?
Schedule C reports $2,909,356 in compensation to service provider organisations, $645 per participant or 0.53% of net assets. The same-size median among plans reporting any Schedule C compensation was $325 per participant. Administrative expenses on Schedule H were $2,914,000. 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 Carefirst, Inc.. Recordkeeping or administration: Morneau Shepell Limited. Investment advisory or management: Hood River Capital Management, Silchester and Dodge and Cox. Trustee or custodian: State Street Bank & Trust Co. and State Street Global Advisors. The financial statements were audited by SB & Company, LLC. 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 13 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 52-2069215, plan 003, received 13 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.