Total U.S. retirement assets reached a record $20.8 trillion for the quarter ended March 31, and total defined contribution plan assets achieved a record $5.37 trillion during the same period, according to the latest quarterly report by the Investment Company Institute.
Total retirement assets comprise DC plans, individual retirement accounts, government pension plans, private-sector defined benefit plans and annuity reserves, according to the ICI report issued Wednesday.
The $20.8 trillion represented a 4.6% gain from the $19.9 trillion for the fourth quarter of 2012, the previous high, said ICI spokeswoman Inga Vitols. The DC assets for the first quarter represented a 5.7% increase from the earlier record of $5.08 trillion for the fourth quarter of 2012, Ms. Vitols said.
The largest component among U.S. retirement assets remains IRAs, with $5.68 trillion for the first quarter, according to the ICI report. The second largest is the $5.37 trillion in DC plans, and the third-largest component is government defined benefit plans with $5.2 trillion in assets.
Private-sector DB plan assets remained essentially flat at $2.66 trillion for the first quarter of 2013. Since the beginning of last year, DB assets have hovered between $2.6 trillion and $2.7 trillion, the report said.
