---
title: "DOL Form 5500: ERISA pension & welfare plan filings"
description: >-
  How to pull DOL Form 5500 plan filings and schedules for free: the
  apex-redirect-hangs-urllib trap, the ACK_ID-not-EIN join key, and the
  "Latest is unstable" trap, for automated pipelines.
sidebar:
  label: DOL Form 5500
  order: 6
tags: [pensions, filings, panel-data, free, no-api-key, dol, data:form-5500]
verified:
  level: fetched
  date: 2026-05-16
  with: live www.askebsa.dol.gov fetch (F_5500_2022, 30 MB) + apex-redirect gotcha confirmed
---

**Form 5500** (US DOL / EBSA) is the free annual ERISA filing for every
US pension and welfare plan with ≥100 participants. Schedule H gives
plan-level asset breakdowns, including **mutual-fund holdings**, making it
the go-to free source for retirement, household-finance, DC/401(k), and
pension-as-shareholder research. It is what the
[ZeroPaper](https://github.com/alejandroll10/zeropaper) pipeline uses for
retirement and labor-finance work.

- **Cost:** free, no auth.
- **Coverage:** annual from 1999; stable schedule structure from 2009 (post
  EFAST2). Plans <100 participants file 5500-SF (separate).
- **Home:** <https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/public-disclosure/foia/form-5500-datasets>

## Access

Per-year, per-schedule ZIPs (no auth):

```
https://www.askebsa.dol.gov/FOIA%20Files/{year}/Latest/F_{NAME}_{year}_Latest.zip
NAME ∈ {5500, SCH_A, SCH_C, SCH_D, SCH_G, SCH_H, SCH_I, SCH_R, SCH_MB, SCH_SB}
```

```python
import io, zipfile, requests, pandas as pd

def get_5500(year, name="5500"):
    url = (f"https://www.askebsa.dol.gov/FOIA%20Files/{year}"
           f"/Latest/F_{name}_{year}_Latest.zip")
    z = zipfile.ZipFile(io.BytesIO(
        requests.get(url, stream=True, timeout=120).content))
    return pd.read_csv(z.open(z.namelist()[0]), low_memory=False)

main22 = get_5500(2022)            # ~243K plan filings
sch_h  = get_5500(2022, "SCH_H")   # plan financials / asset breakdown
joined = main22.merge(sch_h, on="ACK_ID")   # filing-level key (see gotchas)
```

## Gotchas (the ones that bite pipelines)

The reason to read this page rather than the DOL site. Verified live on the
date above (the 2022 main file is a ~30 MB ZIP; the apex-redirect below was
reproduced).

- **Hit `www.askebsa.dol.gov`, not the apex.** The apex
  `askebsa.dol.gov` issues a 301 whose `Location` contains a **literal
  space** (`FOIA Files`, not `FOIA%20Files`); confirmed live. That malformed
  header hangs `urllib`. Always request the `www.` host directly.
- **Join schedules on `ACK_ID`, not `EIN`.** `ACK_ID` is the DOL filing ID and
  the correct key to attach a schedule to one filing. `(EIN, PN)` identifies a
  *plan across years*; use that for a plan-year panel, not for joining
  schedules.
- **"Latest" is a moving target.** DOL revises files as late filings arrive.
  Row counts change month to month; snapshot the cache and report the access
  date, or your results aren't reproducible.
- **Slow source.** ~50 KB/s on `urllib`; use `requests` streaming (~2.5 MB/s).
  Expect a multi-minute first download per (year, schedule). Cache to
  `data/form_5500/`.
- **Big in memory.** Schedule H is ~52 MB CSV/year; multi-year panels reach
  hundreds of MB; use a column subset (`usecols=`).
- **Schedule structure stabilized in 2009.** Pre-2009 column names differ;
  don't assume a 2022 schema for a 2005 file.

## Key columns

| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `ACK_ID` | DOL filing ID, the join key for schedules |
| `EIN`, `PN` | Sponsor EIN + plan number; `(EIN, PN)` = plan across years |
| `TOT_ASSETS_EOY_AMT` | Total plan assets, end of year (Sch H) |
| `INT_REG_INVST_CO_EOY_AMT` | **Mutual-fund holdings** (registered inv. cos.) |
| `INT_COMMON_TR_EOY_AMT` | Common collective trusts (DC substitute) |
| `EMPLR_CONTRIB_*_AMT` / `PARTCP_CONTRIB_*_AMT` | Employer / participant contributions |
| `PARTCP_LOANS_*_AMT` | Participant loans outstanding |

Pair `BOY`/`EOY` columns to construct flows.

## Standard operations

- **Plan-year panel:** stack Schedule H across years, key on `(EIN, PN, year)`.
- **Mutual-fund exposure share:**
  `INT_REG_INVST_CO_EOY_AMT / TOT_ASSETS_EOY_AMT`.
- **Implied flows:** `EOY − BOY·(1+r_t)` with a benchmarked plan return.
- **Sponsor link:** match sponsor EIN to Compustat for firm characteristics.
- **Always state** schedule, year, and access date (DOL revises "Latest").

## Citation

*U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Form 5500
[Schedule, plan year], public-use research files;
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/.../form-5500-datasets, accessed
YYYY-MM-DD.*