U.S. Retirement Assets Rise 3% to $18.1 Trillion in First Quarter

U.S. retirement assets rose 3% from year-end 2010 to $18.1 trillion as of March 31, the Investment Company Institute said.

At the end of the first quarter, retirement savings accounted for 37% of all household financial assets.

Assets in individual retirement accounts totaled $4.9 trillion at the end of the first quarter, up 3.2% from year-end 2010. Defined contribution plan asses increased 3.6% in the first quarter to $4.7 trillion. Government pension plans held $4.5 trillion in assets at the end of the quarter, up 2.4% from the end of 2010, and private sector defined benefit plans held $2.3 trillion in assets at the end of the first quarter, with annuity reserves held outside retirement accounts totaling another $1.6 trillion.

The total retirement assets of $18.1 trillion are just below their all-time high reached at the end of the third quarter of 2007, the ICI said.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
401(k) Money Management Executive
MORE FROM FINANCIAL PLANNING