First-quarter retirement assets increased 1.3% to $24.9 trillion, the Investment Company Institute reported on Wednesday. Retirement assets now account for 36% of all household assets.
Assets have been increasing slowly but surely since the second quarter of 2012, when total retirement assets in the United States were $19.2 trillion and accounted for 34% of household assets.
Most of those assets are in individual retirement accounts. IRA assets increased more than 2% in the first quarter to $7.6 trillion. Defined contribution assets increased a more modest 1.8% to $6.8 trillion.
The most recent data that ICI provided for IRA assets by type of IRA was from year-end 2014. Traditional IRAs took a large majority, with $6.4 trillion at the end of 2014. Roth IRAs held $550 billion.
Most DC assets are held in 401(k) plans — $4.7 trillion, according to the report. The next most popular plan type were 403(b) plans, which held $875 billion in assets, followed by $570 billion in "other" private-sector DC plans, $437 billion in the Federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) and $265 billion in 457 plans.
Over half of the assets in DC plans — 56% — are invested in mutual funds. By comparison, 48% of assets in IRAs are invested in mutual funds.
