Southwest Airlines Co.
Updated Filing received by DOL
Southwest Airlines Co., a transportation — truck & rail employer in Dallas, Texas, reported 79,190 participants in its health and welfare plan for plan year 2024. Its Form 5500 shows $572,520 in insurance premiums across 13 contracts and $814,716 in broker commissions and fees. The plan is a mix of insured and self-funded coverage. The Department of Labor received the filing on October 10, 2025, within the extension window.
Who was paid on Southwest Airlines Co.'s plan
Schedule A, Part I lists each broker or agent paid on each insurance contract and the amount. Totals below add every contract Southwest Airlines Co. filed for 2024.
| Broker or agent | Commissions | Fees | Total | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willis Towers Watson · New York, NY | $388,461 | $78,525 | $466,986 | 5 |
| Pacific Resource Benefit Advisors · Boston, MA | $0 | $224,763 | $224,763 | 1 |
| Strategic Non-Medical Solutions LLC · Boston, MA | $9,837 | $95,029 | $104,866 | 2 |
| Aon · Chicago, IL | $0 | $16,702 | $16,702 | 3 |
| BSC Agency LLC · West Des Moines, NJ | $0 | $876 | $876 | 1 |
| Custom Benefit Programs Inc · Somerset, NJ | $483 | $40 | $523 | 1 |
Source: DOL Form 5500 Schedule A, Part I (broker commissions and fees), plan year 2024, as published in EBSA's 2024 "Latest" dataset. Part I names whoever the carrier paid, which can be a firm or an individual agent; both are public record. Amounts exclude pay from carriers not tied to a listed contract.
Insurance contracts and carriers
Every insurance contract reported on Schedule A: carrier, what it covers, people covered at year end, earned premium, and broker compensation.
| Carrier · coverage | Covered | Premium | Broker pay | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cigna Health and Life Insurance Companyhealth, prescription drug, indemnity | 19 | $420,900 | $8,583 | 2.0% |
| Triple S Salud, Inc.health, prescription drug | 32 | $151,620 | $1,101 | 0.7% |
| Lincoln National Life Insurance Companylong-term disability | 61,082 | — | $258,469 | — |
| Fidelity Security Life Insurance Companyvision | 96,425 | — | — | — |
| Fidelity Security Life Insurance Companyvision | 17,496 | — | — | — |
| Fidelity Security Life Insurance Companyvision | 339 | — | — | — |
| Fidelity Security Life Insurance Companyvision | 34 | — | — | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inchealth, HMO | 335 | — | — | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Hawaiihealth, HMO | 309 | — | — | — |
| Metropolitan Life Insurance Companyhealth | 82 | — | $5,710 | — |
| Combined Insurance Company of Americahealth, short-term disability | 19,598 | — | $385,860 | — |
| Metropolitan Life Insurance Companylife | 137,664 | — | $154,993 | — |
| Metropolitan Life Insurance Companyhealth · amount flagged as implausible, excluded | 36,313 | — | — | — |
Source: DOL Form 5500 Schedule A, plan year 2024. Self-funded medical coverage has no premium; amounts shown for it are stop-loss or administrative contracts.
How Southwest Airlines Co. compares
Medians across employers for plan year 2024, the most recent complete year. Commission rates use fully insured medical contracts only; dollar medians use every employer that disclosed broker pay.
Not computable: no insured medical premium on the filing.
Premium per covered person on medical contracts: $11,226 a year (national median $7,274).
Source: BenefitsLedger benchmarks from 58,547 employer health plans with 100 or more participants, plan year 2024. Methodology.
Year over year
| 2023 | 2024 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participants | 73,685 | 79,190 | +7.5% |
| Premiums filed | $475,132 | $572,520 | not comparable |
| Broker commissions + fees | $1,265,009 | $814,716 | −35.6% |
| Commission rate | — | — | — |
Source: DOL Form 5500 filings for plan years 2023 and 2024.
Filings and timeliness
Plans this employer filed under its EIN with a health benefit code. Large plans are due seven months after the plan year ends, or two and a half months later with an extension; amended filings carry the amendment date, so no timing is asserted for them.
| Plan | Plan year end | Received by DOL | Timing | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines Co. Welfare Benefit Plan#501 · insurance, general assets | December 31, 2024 | October 10, 2025 | within extension | 79,190 |
Source: DOL Form 5500 Part I and signature dates; "late" means received after the extended deadline (the 15th day of the tenth month after plan year end). What a late Form 5500 costs.
How much did Southwest Airlines Co. pay in health insurance broker commissions in 2024?
Southwest Airlines Co.'s 2024 Form 5500 reports $814,716 in broker commissions and fees across 13 insurance contracts ($398,781 in commissions, $415,935 in fees), with Willis Towers Watson receiving the largest share.
Is Southwest Airlines Co.'s health plan self-funded or fully insured?
The 2024 filing indicates the plan is a mix of insured and self-funded coverage. Medical coverage is written by Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Triple S Salud, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc.
How does Southwest Airlines Co.'s broker compensation compare with similar employers?
A commission-to-premium ratio cannot be computed for Southwest Airlines Co. because the filing does not report medical premium on Schedule A (usual for self-funded plans). In dollars, employers with 5,000+ participants that disclosed broker pay reported a median of $458,262.
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Record built October 24, 2026 from U.S. Department of Labor, EBSA Form 5500 datasets (2025, 2024, 2023 plan years, 'Latest' files). Filings can run 7 to 10 months behind the plan year; always confirm against current plan documents. BenefitsLedger is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Labor. Open the DOL filing search.