Total U.S. retirement assets were $29.8 trillion as of June 30, up 2.3% from March. Retirement assets accounted for 33% of all household financial assets in the United States.
The Investment Company Institute reports that assets in individual retirement accounts (IRAs) totaled $9.7 trillion at the end of the second quarter, an increase of 2.9% from the end of the first quarter.
Defined contribution (DC) plan assets were $8.4 trillion, up 2.6% from March.
Government defined benefit (DB) plans—including federal, state, and local government plans—held $6.2 trillion in assets as of the end of June, a 0.7% increase from the end of March. Private-sector DB plans held $3.2 trillion in assets, and annuity reserves outside of retirement accounts accounted for another $2.2 trillion.
Defined contribution plans
Americans held $8.4 trillion in all employer-based DC retirement plans, of which $5.8 trillion was held in 401k plans.
In addition to 401k plans, at the end of the second quarter, $545 billion was held in other private-sector DC plans, $1.1 trillion in 403(b) plans, $339 billion in 457 plans, and $617 billion in the Federal Employees Retirement System’s Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).
Mutual funds managed $3.8 trillion, or 65%, of assets held in 401k plans.
With $2.2 trillion, equity funds were the most common type of funds held in 401k plans, followed by $1.1 trillion in hybrid funds, which include target-date funds.
Individual retirement accounts
IRAs held $9.7 trillion in assets at the end of the second quarter. Forty-six percent of IRA assets, or $4.5 trillion, was invested in mutual funds.
With $2.5 trillion, equity funds were the most common type of funds held in IRAs, followed by $952 billion in hybrid funds.
Target-date funds
As of June 30, 2019, target-date mutual fund assets totaled $1.3 trillion, up 4.1% from the end of March.
Retirement accounts held the bulk (87%) of target-date mutual fund assets, with 68% held through DC plans and 19% held through IRAs.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of 401(k) Specialist and Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots. Experienced financial services content executive specializing in creative new media delivery. He joined the American Retirement Association in 2023 as Chief Content Officer, overseeing communications for the organization, as well as its sister organizations.
