8 New Stats on the Rise of IRAs and 401(k)s

Individual retirement accounts and 401(k)s have grown strongly in recent years, despite some bumps in the road in the form of persistent market volatility and rapidly rising interest rates. This is the conclusion drawn in a new analysis published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, titled "The Status of American Families' Accumulations in Individual Account Retirement Plans: An Analysis of the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances." As the title indicates, the EBRI report utilizes the latest available data from the triennial Survey of Consumer Finances, which details Americans' wealth in a variety of ways — including by providing insight on retirement account ownership and account balances. After modest growth and even some declines in retirement account ownership and assets from 2016 to 2019, there was substantial growth from 2019 to 2022, EBRI reports. Americans experienced particularly strong gains in the ownership incidence of Roth-type accounts, including among the younger generations. "While the results of this study do not answer questions about what is needed for retirement, it does show the continued importance of individual account plans," said Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at EBRI. The fact is that tax-advantaged retirement accounts of all types contribute significantly to the typical family's net worth today, Copeland said. Thus, any policy that alters this system could have big consequences — either positive or negative — for Americans' ability to fund a comfortable retirement. See the slideshow for a review of eight key findings from the new EBRI report.