Form 5500 · Employee benefit plan · BUTTE, MT
NORTHWESTERN CORPORATION
The filing calls this plan NORTHWESTERN ENERGY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN.
NORTHWESTERN CORPORATION of BUTTE, MT is a 2,202-participant utilities employer — a large group whose insured benefits are disclosed on Schedule A of its Form 5500. Its broker of record is MERCER HEALTH & BENEFITS LLC. Coverage is written through THE LINCOLN NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY. The plan's most recent policy period ended in December.
Sourced from U.S. DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 · EIN 46-0172280 · plan 530 · plan year 2024, filed Oct 13, 2025
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201 other employer plans in Montana have policy years ending in December. See the full list on the renewal calendar, or ask for it in Claude or ChatGPT.
How this plan is funded
Self-funded as reported
The filing reports benefits paid from the plan's own money, and no medical insurance contract on Schedule A.
A stop-loss policy appears on a Form 5500 only when the plan itself is the beneficiary, or the premiums are paid from plan money. Many employers buy stop-loss and never report it here. So a plan with no stop-loss on its filing may still have it.
Benefits declared on this filing
Also declared: other welfare.
Declared benefits are the plan’s own line 8b codes on Form 5500. “Not on Schedule A” means no insured contract for that line appears on this filing. That usually means the benefit is self-funded, or it sits under a different plan number.
Persons covered is the count the carrier filed for that policy at the end of its policy year, and it can include dependents. Participants is the plan's own count at the start of its plan year. The two count different people, so a covered figure can be larger.
Plan brief
Schedule A lists 2 insured contracts covering life and disability; the largest, with THE LINCOLN NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, covers 6,263 people.
The filing declares life, disability, health, dental and vision. Health, dental and vision appear with no insured contract on Schedule A. That coverage may be self-funded, or placed with a carrier that is not on this filing.
Reported premium across the insured contracts is $2,351,640, with $164,615 in disclosed broker commissions — about 7% of premium.
The most recent policy period ended in December, and the plan year ends December 31. Group contracts typically renew on that annual cycle.
MERCER HEALTH & BENEFITS LLC is the broker of record on all 2 contracts.
Schedule A insurance contracts
| Carrier | Benefits | Covered | Renews | Premium | Commission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE LINCOLN NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY | Life | 6,263 | Jan 1, 2025 | $1,584,859 | $110,940 |
| THE LINCOLN NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY | Disability | 1,579 | Jan 1, 2025 | $766,781 | $53,675 |
Covered = persons covered at policy year end, as filed on Schedule A for that policy — often certificates or one class, not the whole plan. Premium = the filing’s own premium/charges figure; “—” means not credibly reported.
Administrator and service providers
The plan administrator is from line 3a of the main form. The service providers are named on Schedule C of this filing. We publish company names only.
Reported to OSHA
Reported to OSHA for 2025: 762 employees, 17 recordable cases, 522 days away from work.
Source: OSHA Injury Tracking Application establishment data, 2025.
Money the plan held and paid out
Sourced from U.S. DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 · Schedule H
These are the plan's own figures from Schedule H, the financial statement it files. They are not the premium on Schedule A.
Other plans filed by this employer
How this plan compares
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Renewal calendar
201 other employer plans in Montana are January 1 renewals (policy year ends December).
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