NORTHERN FUNDS U.S. Government Money Market Fund

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

The Fund seeks to maximize current income to the extent consistent with the preservation of capital and maintenance of liquidity by investing exclusively in high quality money market instruments.

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may be required to pay commissions and/or other forms of compensation to a financial intermediary for transactions in Shares Class shares, which are not reflected in the tables or the examples below.

EXAMPLE

The following Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same (taking into account the expense reimbursement arrangement for one year, if applicable). Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, substantially all (and at least 99.5%) of its total assets in cash; securities issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government, its agencies, instrumentalities, or sponsored enterprises; and repurchase agreements that are fully collateralized by cash or government securities. The Fund, under normal circumstances, will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in U.S. government securities and repurchase agreements collateralized solely by U.S. government securities. Repurchase agreements are agreements in which the Fund may agree to purchase portfolio securities from financial institutions subject to the seller’s agreement to repurchase them at a mutually agreed upon date and price.

The Fund operates as a “government money market fund” under Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. As a “government money market fund” under Rule 2a-7, the Fund (1) is permitted to use the amortized cost method of valuation to seek to maintain a stable net asset value (“NAV”) of $1.00 share price, and (2) is not required to impose a liquidity fee on fund redemptions that might apply to other types of money market funds. The Fund may invest in shares of other government money market funds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) imposes strict requirements on the investment quality, maturity, diversification and liquidity of the Fund’s investments. Accordingly, the Fund invests in U.S. dollar-denominated securities with a remaining maturity of no more than 397 days (with certain exceptions permitted by applicable regulations). The Fund maintains a dollar-weighted average portfolio maturity of no more than 60 calendar days, and a dollar-weighted average portfolio maturity as determined without exceptions regarding certain interest rate adjustments under Rule 2a-7 of no more than 120 calendar days. The Fund will limit its investments to “eligible securities” as defined by applicable regulations, at the time of acquisition

(e.g., government securities, shares of other money market funds, and securities that present minimal credit risks as determined by NTI, pursuant to guidelines approved by the Fund’s Board of Trustees). The Fund may invest in variable and floating rate instruments.

The Fund’s investment adviser may consider, among other things, credit, interest rate and prepayment risks as well as general market conditions when deciding whether to buy or sell investments for the Fund. The Fund will generally hold a portion of its assets in cash to accommodate anticipated redemptions.

PRINCIPAL RISKS

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund’s performance could trail that of other investments. The Fund is subject to certain risks, including the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund’s NAV, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective. Each risk noted below is considered a principal risk of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. The significance of each risk factor below may change over time and you should review each risk factor carefully.

STABLE NAV RISK is the risk that the Fund will not be able to maintain a NAV per share of $1.00 at all times. A significant enough market disruption or drop in market prices of securities held by the Fund, especially at a time when the Fund needs to sell securities to meet shareholder redemption requests, could cause the value of the Fund’s shares to decrease to a price less than $1.00 per share. If the Fund fails to maintain a stable NAV (or if there is a perceived threat of such a failure) the Fund could be subject to increased redemption activity, which could adversely affect its NAV.

INTEREST RATE RISK is the risk that during periods of rising interest rates, the market value of a Fund’s securities will tend to be lower than prevailing market rates and in periods of falling interest rates, the market value of a Fund’s securities will tend to be higher. A Fund’s yield will vary as short-term securities in its portfolio mature and the proceeds are reinvested in securities with different interest rates. In general, securities with longer maturities or durations are more sensitive to interest rate changes. A general rise in interest rates may cause investors to move out of fixed income securities on a large scale, which could adversely affect the price and liquidity of fixed income securities and could also result in increased redemptions for the Fund. During periods when inflation rates are high or rising, or during periods of low interest rates, the Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates. Changing interest rates, may have unpredictable effects on the markets and the Fund’s investments, may result in heightened market volatility, may impact the liquidity of fixed-income securities and of the Fund, and may detract from Fund performance.

CREDIT (OR DEFAULT) RISK is the risk that the inability or unwillingness of an issuer or guarantor of a fixed-income security, or a counterparty to a repurchase or other transaction, to meet its principal or interest payments or other financial obligations in a timely manner will adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investments and its returns. Changes in an issuer’s financial strength, the market’s perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness, or in the credit rating of the issuer or the security may also affect the value of the Fund’s investment in that issuer.

DEBT EXTENSION RISK is the risk that when interest rates rise an issuer will exercise its right to pay principal on certain debt securities held by the Fund later than expected. This will cause the value of the security to decrease and the Fund may lose opportunities to invest in higher yielding securities.

PREPAYMENT (OR CALL) RISK is the risk that an issuer could exercise its right to pay principal on callable debt securities held by the Fund earlier than expected. Issuers may be more likely to prepay their securities if interest rates fall. If this happens, the Fund will not benefit from the rise in the market price of the securities that normally accompanies a decline in interest rates, and will be forced to reinvest prepayment proceeds in lower yielding securities, which may reduce the Fund’s returns. The Fund may also lose any premium it paid to purchase the securities.

VARIABLE OR FLOATING RATE INSTRUMENTS RISK is the risk that securities with variable or floating rates can be less sensitive to interest rate changes than securities with fixed interest rates, but may decline in value and negatively impact the Fund, particularly if changes in prevailing interest rates are more frequent or sudden than the rate changes for the variable or floating rate securities, which only occur periodically. Although variable and floating rate securities are less sensitive to interest rate risk than fixed-rate securities, they are subject to greater liquidity risk, which could impede their value.

INCOME RISK is the risk that the Fund’s ability to distribute income to shareholders depends on the yield available from the Fund’s investments. Falling interest rates will cause the Fund’s income to decline. Income risk is generally higher for short-term debt securities.

U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES RISK is the risk that the U.S. government will not provide financial support to its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises if it is not obligated to do so by law. Certain U.S. government securities purchased by the Fund are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and, therefore, may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. government securities may greatly exceed their current resources, including any legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that the issuers of such securities will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future. U.S. government securities include zero coupon securities, which tend to be subject to greater market risk than interest-paying securities of similar maturities.

REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS RISK is the risk that the counterparty may default on its obligation to repurchase the underlying instruments collateralizing the repurchase agreement, which may cause the Fund to lose money.

INVESTMENT COMPANY RISK is the risk that the Fund will be subject to the risks associated with investments in registered investment companies (“Underlying Funds”), such as the possibility that the value of the securities or instruments held by the Underlying Funds could decrease. Investments in Underlying Funds may involve duplication of management fees and certain other expenses, as the Fund indirectly hears its proportionate share of any expenses paid by the Underlying Funds in which it invests. NTI may be subject to potential

conflicts of interest with respect to investments in affiliated Underlying Funds, which are Underlying Funds managed by NTI or its affiliates, because the fees paid to NTI by some affiliated Underlying Funds may be higher than the fees paid by other Underlying Funds.

MARKET RISK is the risk that the value of the Fund’s investments may increase or decrease in response to expected, real or perceived economic, political or financial events in the U.S. or global markets. The frequency and magnitude of such changes in value cannot be predicted. Certain securities and other investments held by the Fund may experience increased volatility, illiquidity, or other potentially adverse effects in response to changing market conditions, inflation, changes in interest rates, lack of liquidity in the bond or equity markets or volatility in the equity markets. Market disruptions caused by local or regional events such as financial institution failures, war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness (including epidemics and pandemics) or other public health issues, recessions or other events or adverse investor sentiment could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. During the periods of market disruption or other abnormal market conditions, the Fund’s exposure to risks described elsewhere in this summary will likely increase.

CASH POSITIONS RISK is the risk that maintaining cash positions may negatively affect the Fund’s performance and subject the Fund to additional risks, such as increased counterparty risk exposure to the custodian bank.

MANAGEMENT RISK is the risk that a strategy used by the Fund’s investment adviser may fail to produce the intended results or that imperfections, errors or limitations in the tools and data used by the investment adviser may cause unintended results.

LARGE SHAREHOLDER RISK is the risk that a large proportion of the interests of the Fund may be held by a small number of investors (or a single investor) and the Fund may experience adverse effects when certain large shareholders, including funds or accounts over which the Fund’s investment adviser or an affiliate of the investment adviser has investment discretion, purchase or redeem large amounts of shares of the Fund. Such large shareholder redemptions, which may occur rapidly and unexpectedly, may cause the Fund to sell its securities at times it would not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact its liquidity and/or NAV. Such sales may also accelerate the realization of taxable income to shareholders if these sales result in gains, and may also increase transaction costs. In addition, large redemptions could lead to an increase in the Fund’s expense ratio due to expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base. Large purchases of the Fund’s shares or having a more concentrated shareholder base may also adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash or otherwise maintains a larger cash position than it ordinarily would.

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. Although the Fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, the Fund cannot guarantee it will do so. An investment in the Fund is not a bank account and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, any other government agency, or The Northern Trust Company, its affiliates, subsidiaries or any other bank. The Fund’s sponsor is not required to reimburse the Fund for losses, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the Fund at any time, including during periods of market stress.

FUND PERFORMANCE

The bar chart and table that follow provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the performance of the Fund from year to year.

The Fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Updated performance information for the Fund is available and may be obtained on the Fund’s website at northerntrust.com/funds or by calling 800-595-9111.

CALENDAR YEAR TOTAL RETURN⁽¹⁾

⁽¹⁾ Year to date total return for the six months ended June 30, 2024 was 2.53%. For the periods shown in the bar chart above, the highest quarterly return was 1.28% in the fourth quarter of 2023, and the lowest quarterly return was 0.00% in the second quarter of 2021.

⁽²⁾ Total returns for the period includes antitrust settlement proceeds. Absent these proceeds, total return would have been lower.

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN

(For the periods ended December 31, 2023)

For the current 7-day yield call 800-595-9111 or visit northerntrust.com/funds.

MANAGEMENT

INVESTMENT ADVISER. NTI, an indirect subsidiary of Northern Trust Corporation, serves as the investment adviser of the Fund. The Northern Trust Company, an affiliate of NTI, serves as transfer agent, custodian and sub-administrator to the Fund.

PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES

You may purchase shares of the Fund by opening an account directly with Northern Funds (the “Trust”) with a minimum initial investment of $2,500 in the Fund ($500 for an IRA; $250 under the Automatic Investment Plan; and $500 for employees of Northern Trust and its affiliates). The minimum subsequent investment is $50 (except for reinvestments of distributions for which there is no minimum). The Fund reserves the right to waive these minimums. You may also purchase Fund shares through an account at Northern Trust (or an affiliate) or an authorized intermediary.

If you purchase, sell (redeem) or exchange shares through an authorized intermediary, you may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the intermediary. In addition, an authorized intermediary may impose different investment minimums than those set forth above. The Fund is not responsible for any investment minimums imposed by authorized intermediaries or for notifying shareholders of any changes to them.

On any business day, you may sell (redeem) or exchange shares through your account by contacting your Northern Trust account representative or authorized intermediary. If you purchase shares directly from the Trust, you may sell (redeem) or exchange your shares in one of the following ways:

TAX INFORMATION

The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, unless you are investing through a tax-exempt or tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. Distributions may be taxable upon withdrawal from tax-advantaged accounts.

PAYMENTS TO BROKERS-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES

If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.