U.S. pension assets - the good news and the bad news

By Staff Writer

Commentary January 09, 2009 at 07:00 PM

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It might help you sleep at night to know that the U.S. pension system is "better off" than other industrialized nations, according to a new study from Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI).

According to AllianzGI, at $17.3 trillion as of year-end 2007, the U.S. pension market is the largest, most developed in the world and is likely to remain dynamic as investors seek investment strategies that not only target returns but also provide risk management and features that factor in an individual's age, life expectancy and target retirement date. AllianzGI estimates U.S. pension assets could reach $25.5 to $36 trillion by 2020.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that prospects for Social Security look "dismal," and more Americans will in fact be faced with bearing more personal responsibility for their retirement funding.

"Current economic conditions may impact long-term pension saving by tempting people to draw down pension assets to alleviate financial hardships such as mortgage financing problems. However, even the most pessimistic scenarios foresee a large accumulation of pension wealth in the coming decade," says Brigitte Miksa, Head of International Pensions at Allianz Global Investors AG.

To access a copy of Retirement at Risk; The U.S. Pension System in Transition, please e-mail [email protected]

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