Total U.S. retirement assets are down less than 1% from the fourth quarter of 2017 — reaching $28 trillion as of March 31, according to the Investment Company Institute.
Retirement assets accounted for 34% of all household financial assets in the United States at the end of March.
Defined Contribution Plans
Americans held $7.7 trillion in all employer-based defined contribution retirement plans at the end of the first quarter, which was down slightly (0.5%) from year-end 2017.
Of the employer-based DC retirement plans, $5.3 trillion was held in 401(k) plans. In addition, $535 billion was held in other private-sector DC plans, $988 billion in 403(b) plans, $318 billion in 457 plans, and $566 billion in the Federal Employees Retirement System's Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).
Mutual funds managed $3.5 trillion — or 68% — of assets held in 401(k) plans at the end of March. With $2.1 trillion, equity funds were the most common type of funds held in 401(k) plans, followed by $978 billion in hybrid funds, which include target-date funds.
Defined Benefit Plans
Meanwhile, government defined benefit plans — including federal, state and local government plans — held $5.9 trillion in assets as of the end of the first quarter. This was a 1.6% decrease from the end of December 2017.
