ESOPs have delivered $141.8 billion in worker wealth since 2009

A landmark study has put a precise figure on how much wealth employee stock ownership plans have already transferred to American workers.

The report, titled More Than What Remains: Measuring the Wealth ESOPs Have Already Delivered, was authored by Steve Storkan, executive director of the Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX), a nonprofit headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with research and data analysis by Aaron Dean, founder and CEO of Deanalytics, based in the United States. Dean developed the software and dashboard used to collect, organize, and analyze approximately 100,000 Form 5500 filings across the 16-year period from 2009 through 2024.

The study identified $141.8 billion in total ESOP distributions paid out to workers and beneficiaries during that window - a figure that has never before been calculated on a cumulative national basis, according to the researchers.

Read next:  Bipartisan bill clarifying ESOP stock rules sails through House

A metric that has been missing from the conversation

National statistics on ESOPs have traditionally centered on assets currently held within plans and annual distribution amounts. The new study takes a different approach, aggregating distributions across 16 years to capture wealth that has already reached employees - through retirement, job changes, diversification events, or plan terminations.

Of the $141.8 billion total, approximately $113.1 billion came from active ESOPs during their normal operation, while approximately $28.7 billion - or roughly 20 percent — came from ESOPs entering termination, typically triggered by a company sale or change in ownership.

One case highlighted in the report involves Dynetics, a Huntsville, Alabama-based employee-owned company acquired by Leidos in 2020. When the Dynetics ESOP was wound down, approximately $977 million in distributions was paid out to roughly 2,260 plan participants across 2019 and 2020. The report includes five additional company case studies documenting how large ESOP payouts can materialize when ownership changes hands.

"For years we have talked about how much wealth exists inside ESOPs, but we have not celebrated the wealth that has already reached employees," Storkan said. "This research gives us a powerful new way to tell that story. More importantly, it gives business owners, policy makers, community leaders, and employee ownership advocates evidence they can use to help create far more employee-owned companies."

Advisors and business owners take note

For financial advisors guiding business owner clients through succession planning, the study adds a measurable economic argument to a conversation that is often dominated by tax efficiency and deal structure. ESOP distributions, the data shows, can be transformational not just at retirement, but at earlier transition points - a dynamic illustrated by Dean's own experience.

Before founding Deanalytics, Dean spent five years working for an employee-owned company. His eventual ESOP distribution helped stabilize his personal finances and provided capital to launch the firm.

"I experienced firsthand what an ESOP distribution can mean in someone's life," Dean said. "My distribution helped me get my financial house in order, but more importantly, it gave me resources that helped make it possible to start Deanalytics."

The timing is notable. With a significant portion of business owners approaching retirement, the question of succession planning has become one of the defining challenges across the advisory industry. ESOPs represent one option on that spectrum and Storkan believes too few advisors are equipped to present with the evidence it deserves.

"Every retiring business owner should consider employee ownership as a succession option," he said. "Too few business owners seriously consider employee ownership, and too few of the people advising them understand how much wealth employee-owned companies have already created."

Formation data offers a more dynamic picture

The study also tracked ESOP formation and termination trends from 2009 through 2024, identifying 3,943 new ESOPs and 3,839 ESOPs entering the termination process during the same period. New formations outpaced terminations in every year from 2016 through 2024.

The researchers caution that the national count of active ESOPs can be a misleading metric - relatively small net changes at the national level can mask significant activity as companies move into and out of employee ownership in both directions.

The study also breaks data down to the state level, reporting distributions, contributions, new ESOP formations, and terminations by state. The figures are based on the headquarters location of the plan sponsor and do not reflect where individual participants receiving distributions reside.

"A state legislator can now see how much wealth ESOPs associated with their state have distributed," Storkan said. "Community leaders can see what employee-owned companies in their area have already produced for workers."

Retirement savings context

The findings arrive against a backdrop of persistent concern about retirement readiness in the United States. Workers continue to face significant gaps in retirement savings, with the median total household retirement savings among US workers surveyed in late 2025 sitting at $78,000, according to research cited by InvestmentNews.

For advisors who work with business owners considering their exit options, understanding how employee ownership intersects with retirement planning and succession strategy is increasingly part of the value proposition. The EOX study offers a concrete data point to anchor that conversation: $141.8 billion in wealth already delivered, and more to come if adoption broadens.

The full report and executive summary are available at eoxnetwork.org.