Assets in Retirement Plans Top $35 Trillion

According to data released by the Investment Company Institute, retirement assets in the US grew by 3.5% quarter over quarter to $35.4 trillion, as of the first quarter of the year. This is as of the end of the first quarter of the year. These assets represent approximately 31% of US households’ net worth.

In the private sector, the vast majority of these assets are held in defined contribution plans, yet in the public sector, significant retirement assets remain in traditional defined benefit pension plans.

Some good news is the data show participants and IRA holders have not reacted to market volatility. By and large, they held the course through the market downturns in 2008-09, 2020, and 2022.

The lion’s share of assets in defined contribution plans and IRAs is invested in mutual funds with a large portion in asset allocation tools such as target date funds.

Rollovers to IRAs from retirement plans continue to increase every year. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records show in 2020 (the most recent year for which there is data) rollovers to IRAs totaled $618 billion.