Another record high. Investment Company Institute reports that total U.S. retirement assets were $26.6 trillion as of June 30, up 1.9 percent from March, accounting for 34 percent of all household financial assets in the U.S.
IRA assets totaled $8.4 trillion, an increase of 2.3 percent, and defined contribution plan assets rose 2.2 percent to $7.5 trillion.
Government defined benefit plans held $5.7 trillion in assets, a 1.5 percent increase from the end of March.
Private-sector DB plans held $3 trillion in assets at the end of the second quarter, and annuity reserves outside of retirement accounts were $2.1 trillion.
Defined Contribution Plans
Specific to defined contribution plans, Americans held $7.5 trillion in all employer-based DC retirement, of which $5.1 trillion was held in 401k plans.
In addition to 401k plans, at the end of the second quarter, $575 billion was held in other private-sector DC plans, $949 billion in 403b plans, $297 billion in 457 plans, and $526 billion in the Federal Employees Retirement System’s Thrift Savings Plan.
Mutual funds managed $3.3 trillion, or 65 percent, of assets held in 401k plans.
With nearly $2 trillion, equity funds were the most common type of funds held in 401k plans, followed by $918 billion in hybrid funds, which include target date funds.
Individual Retirement Accounts
IRAs held $8.4 trillion in assets at the end of the second quarter. Forty-eight percent of IRA assets, or $4 trillion, was invested in mutual funds.
With $2.2 trillion, equity funds were the most common type of funds held in IRAs, followed by $884 billion in hybrid funds.
Target Date Funds
Target date mutual fund assets grew 4.8 percent in the second quarter, topping $1 trillion at the end of June. Retirement accounts held the bulk of target date mutual fund assets. Eighty-seven percent of these assets were held through DC plans (67 percent) and IRAs (20 percent).
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.