Retirement Assets Reach Record Level

According to the Investment Company Institute (ICI), assets in retirement plans plans edged up to a record $23 trillion, with defined contribution (DC) plans comprising about $5.9 trillion. IRAs continue to show growth as well, reaching $6.5 trillion as of 12-31-13. Plan activity remained relatively quiet, with only 3.5% of plan participants taking a withdrawal. Only 2.7% stopped contributing. to their DC plan. Asset allocation changes to account balances and contributions were minimal. About 18% of participants had a plan loan, consistent with recent years, although higher than five years ago. Defined benefit (DB) plans even had a modest increase, from $2.7 trillion at year-end 2012 to $3.0 trillion at year-end 2013.