The Northern Trust Company 401(k) Review & Grade
The Northern Trust Company Thrift-Incentive Plan
Chicago, ILFinance & Insurance9,639 active participantsPlan year 2024✓ Auto-enroll
Estimate from the plan's Form 5500 filing · How we grade
$3,539Employer $ per active participant
$13,845Employee $ saved per active participant
0.05%Direct admin cost, % of plan assets
$3.3BNet plan assets, end of year
$238,589Average balance per account
Score breakdown
- Employer generosity18.4 / 5037th percentile for employer $ per participant
- Low cost19.5 / 2578th percentile for low admin cost vs. same-size plans
- Employee saving13.4 / 1589th percentile for employee $ per participant
- Plan features10 / 10Auto-enrollment, Default investment
Total score61 / 100 · Grade B
This plan vs. peers
Peers: Finance & Insurance plans with 2,500–9,999 active participants (199 plans).
| Measure | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Employer $ per participant | 37th |
| Lower admin cost | 78th |
| Employee saving | 89th |
| Peers that auto-enroll | 66% |
Get the monthly 401(k) report card
The best and worst plans, new grades as filings post. One email a month, no spam.
Red flags from the filing
No red flags were reported on this filing's compliance questions.
What to do if you're in this plan
- Northern Trust put in about $3,539 per active participant, below the typical peer ($4,489). Any match is still an instant return, so contribute enough to get all of it.
- The filing shows total dollars, not the match formula. Ask HR for the Summary Plan Description so you know the exact match and vesting schedule.
- Fund expense ratios aren't in the filing. Look them up in your 404(a)(5) fee disclosure and favor low-cost index or target-date funds.
- The plan auto-enrolls employees. Check your default contribution rate. Defaults are often lower than what it takes to get the full match.
- Changing jobs? You can usually leave the money in the plan, move it to your new employer's plan, or roll it into an IRA. Don't cash out: you'd owe taxes and possibly a 10% penalty.
The raw numbers from the filing
| Employer contributions | $34,114,038 |
| Participant (employee) contributions | $133,450,273 |
| Other contributions (incl. rollovers in) | $32,487,045 |
| Administrative expenses paid from the plan | $1,600,404 |
| Benefits paid out | $243,942,231 |
| Net assets, start / end of year | $2.9B / $3.3B |
| Active participants, start / end of year | 9,576 / 9,702 |
| Participants with account balances | 13,938 |
| Auto-enrollment (feature code 2S) | Yes |
| Auditor | GJC Cpa's & Advisors |
| Employer stock held by plan | $232,116,478 |
Largest service providers (Schedule C)
| Edelman Financial Engines | $779,654 reported compensation |
| The Prudential Trust Company | $441,231 reported compensation |
| Invesco Capital Management | $273,694 reported compensation |
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filing, acknowledgment ID 20250626095956NAL0021140514001, received 2025-06-26, EIN 36-1561860, plan #002, plan year 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Verify at efast.dol.gov.