The Markets April 9, 2012

DC Assets at $4.5T in 2011

Total U.S. retirement assets were $17.9 trillion as of December 31, 2011, up 4.9% in the fourth quarter of 2011 and about unchanged for the year.
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Retirement savings accounted for 36% of all household financial assets in the United States at the end of 2011, according to data from the Investment Company Institute (ICI). 

Assets in individual retirement accounts (IRAs) totaled $4.9 trillion at the end of 2011, an increase of 4.6% from the end of the third quarter. Defined contribution (DC) plan assets rose 4.8% in the fourth quarter to $4.5 trillion.  

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Government pension plans—including federal, state, and local government plans—held $4.5 trillion in assets as of December 31, up 6.6% from September 30. Private-sector defined benefit plans held $2.4 trillion in assets at the end of the fourth quarter of 2011, and annuity reserves outside of retirement accounts accounted for another $1.6 trillion. 

Americans held $4.5 trillion in all employer-based DC retirement plans on December 31, 2011, of which $3.1 trillion was held in 401(k) plans. Those figures are up from $4.3 trillion and $2.9 trillion, respectively, as of September 30, 2011. Mutual funds managed $2.5 trillion of the assets held in 401(k), 403(b), and other DC plans at the end of December, up from $2.3 trillion at the end of September. 

Mutual funds managed 55% of DC plan assets at the end of the fourth quarter.  Forty-five percent of IRA assets, or $2.2 trillion, was invested in mutual funds.
 
As of December 31, 2011, target date mutual fund assets totaled $376 billion, up 9.6% in the fourth quarter and up 10.6% for the year. Retirement accounts held the bulk of target date mutual fund assets: 91% of target date mutual fund assets were held through DC plans and IRAs.
 

The Markets April 9, 2012

National Retirement Planning Week Kicks Off

National Retirement Planning Week 2012, which takes place Monday through Friday, will focus on Social Security and Baby Boomers' retirement readiness.
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The event, led by the National Retirement Planning Coalition, will include the unveiling of research on Baby Boomers’ retirement readiness on Monday, and a webinar for advisers on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. Chad Terry, BlackRock’s director of investment and retirement education, will discuss Social Security as part of a successful retirement strategy.

On Wednesday, retirement trends, research and planning tools will be discussed at a meeting hosted by the American Savings Education Council and its partners at 9 a.m. at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington, D.C. Registration is required. A financial literacy seminar will be hosted by the George Washington University School of Business and the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System at 3:30 p.m. on the George Washington University campus in Washington, D.C.

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The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) and the National Retirement Planning Coalition on Thursday will release a package of client documents for financial advisers reviewed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to help clients formulate a plan for a financially secure retirement.

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