Retirement Savings Up Almost 12 Percent in 2006

U.S.

retirement savings hit a record $16.4 trillion last year, up 11.6 percent from $14.7 trillion from the year before, according to a report the Investment Company Institute issued Thursday, July 26. Of the total in 2006, 25 percent was in defined-contribution plans; 14 percent in private defined-benefit plans; 25.6 percent in IRAs; 25.6 percent in pension plans sponsored by local, state and federal governments; and the remainder in annuities.

According to ICI estimates, IRAs experienced the most growth in 2006, up 16.6 percent from the previous year. Defined contribution was up 13.8 percent compared with 2005, while private defined benefit was up 4.5 percent, government defined benefit was up 10.5 percent and annuities were up 14 percent.

Assets in employer-sponsored defined-contribution plans increased 27 percent from 1985, and assets in private defined-benefit plans dropped 43 percentfrom 1985, according to the report, available on ICI’s Web site at www.ici.org.

Assets in lifecycle and lifestyle funds grew 50 percent to $303 billion during the year ended December 31. In addition, about half the IRA assets in 2006 were rolled over from employer-sponsored plans, according to the study.

Filed by Pensions & Investments, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.