Total U.S. retirement plan assets were $24.7 trillion as of Dec. 31, 2014, with defined contribution assets registering the strongest percentage growth, according to a new report.
While total retirement plan assets were up 1.7% from the $24.2 trillion mark at Sept. 30, 2014, according to the Investment Company Institute, DC plan assets rose 2.1% in the fourth quarter, to $6.8 trillion. Meanwhile, federal, state and local government DB plans — held $5.2 trillion in assets as of the end of December, a 1.9% increase from the end of September.
IRAs remained the largest category, totaling $7.4 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2014, an increase of 1.4% from the previous quarter — though a large amount of those IRA assets originated in workplace DC retirement plans. Private-sector DB plans held $3.2 trillion in assets at the end of 2014, with annuity reserves outside of retirement accounts accounting for another $2.0 trillion.
Retirement assets accounted for 36% of all household financial assets in the United States at the end of 2014, according to ICI.
Americans held $6.8 trillion in all employer-based DC retirement plans on Dec. 31, 2014, of which $4.6 trillion was held in 401(k) plans. Those figures were $6.6 trillion and $4.5 trillion, respectively, as of Sept. 30, 2014.
In addition to 401(k) plans, at the end of the fourth quarter:
- $560 billion was held in other private-sector DC plans;
- $951 billion in 403(b) plans;
- $261 billion in 457 plans; and
- $427 billion in the Federal Employees Retirement System’s Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).
