10 Facts About IRA Contributions, Balances and Rollovers

Recently published retirement industry data shows both the overall asset levels and the average balance in individual retirement accounts are hovering near record highs, with both ongoing contributions and the strong pace of rollovers from workplace plans contributing to the growth. In fact, research released at the end of February by the Investment Company Institute shows a solid majority of U.S. households now have tax-advantaged retirement savings of some kind. All told, more than seven in 10 households have retirement assets through work or IRAs, with the figure increasing to more than eight in 10 among near-retiree households. Traditional IRAs remain the most common type of IRA owned, according to the ICI, followed by Roth IRAs and employer-sponsored IRAs. IRA-owning households often also have employer‑sponsored retirement plan accumulations or had defined benefit plan coverage, showing the way Americans tend to rely on multiple sources of income in retirement. What is also clear in the data is that the strong pace of workplace plan rollovers seen in the last decade has been instrumental to the IRA's ongoing success as a savings vehicle, and there is good reason to believe the expansion of the workplace savings market will continue to buoy IRAs for a long time to come. See the slideshow for a rundown of 10 facts about IRA balances and rollovers taken from the ICI's new report.