Plan Ledger DOL Form 5500 · updated monthly

Southwest Airlines Company401(k)

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. 401K PLAN · DALLAS, TX · plan year 2025

Reported admin expense ratio · 2025
0.02%

Peer grade: A- · admin costs + employer contributions vs same-size plans · how grading works

Southwest Airlines Company reported $3,596,422 in plan administrative expenses for 2025: 0.02% of average plan assets, lower than ~75% of peers. Employer contributions averaged $6,237 per active participant. This ratio covers administrative expenses reported on the plan's Schedule H only; fund-level expense ratios are not included in public structured data — see methodology.

Across the 3 years on file its reported administrative ratio rose from 0.01% to 0.02%. The plan sits in the over $1B size bracket, benchmarked here against 141 comparable plans and shown alongside other transportation & warehousing employers. By assets it is the 6th-largest of 5,688 plans among Texas employers on file, and the 4th of 2,677 in transportation & warehousing. In 2025, employees put in $1.04 for every $1.00 the employer contributed; active participation has grown from 59,610 to 74,992 since 2022.

Plan summary
Net assets, end of year$18,866,824,789
Participants with balances86,471
Active participants74,992
Employer contributions$467,721,118
Employee contributions$484,118,472
Employer contribution per active participant$6,237
Average account balance$218,187
Benefits paid to participants$1,792,150,105
Plan auditUnmodified (clean) audit opinion
Plan history4
Yearassets · accounts · employer contribution
2025$18.9B · 86,471 accts · $467.7M emplr
2024$17.0B · 85,318 accts · $481.7M emplr
2023$9.9B · 75,403 accts · $326.5M emplr
2022$8.0B · 67,355 accts · $294.5M emplr
Administrative expenses, itemized · 2025
Recordkeeping & contract admin$3,332,677
Investment management$125,000
Audit (IQPA)$120,085
Total administrative$3,596,422
The Southwest Airlines Company 401(k) match · 2025
Employer contribution per active participant$6,237
Median for plans this size$5,084
2025$6,237 per active participant
2024$6,490 per active participant
2023$4,850 per active participant
2022$4,940 per active participant

Southwest Airlines Company's 2025 employer contribution ran above the $5,084 median for plans its size. Filings report dollars actually contributed, not the match formula; the formula itself (for example, 50% of the first 6% of pay) lives in the plan's summary plan description from HR.

What these fees cost you

Annual cost at the plan's reported 2025 administrative ratio, against the median plan its size; fund expense ratios are extra. Compare any plan.

Service providers · 20257
NEPC LLC · Investment advisory (plan)$189,597
STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS TRUST · Investment advisory (plan)$125,000
CBIZ CPAS P.C. · Accounting / audit$120,085
CHARLES SCHWAB & CO., INC. · Investment advisory (participants) · Securities brokerage$22,131
MHM RPS · Accounting / audit$11,460
QDRO CONSULTANTS COMPANY · Consulting$7,200

Compensation shown is direct payments from plan assets reported on Schedule C. Providers paid through fund revenue-sharing appear as indirect.

Recordkeeper by year2
2024Charles Schwab
2023Charles Schwab

Looking for an account from a past job here? How to find an old 401(k).

Administrative cost history4
2025$3,596,422 · 0.02%
2024$3,597,092 · 0.03%
2023$2,609,874 · 0.03%
2022$667,035 · 0.01%
All plans at this employer3
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. PROFITSHARING PLANProfit-sharing plan
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES PILOTS RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLAN401(k)
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. 401K PLAN401(k)
Same employer
Similar plansTransportation & Warehousing · Texas
FedEx Corporation TN$25.4B · 0.03%
Delta Air Lines, Inc. GA$19.0B · 0.07%
United Airlines, Inc. IL$16.8B · 0.18%
Bnsf Railway Company TX$4.8B · 0.00%

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Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Form 5500 series, EIN 741563240 · Verify on EFAST2 · Amounts are as reported by the plan sponsor for the plan year shown.