Report: Retirement assets drop 5 percent in second quarter

The report, “The U.S. Retirement Market, Second Quarter 2010,” includes assets held in private-sector defined benefit plans, government pension plans, defined contribution plans (including 401(k), 403(k) and 457 plans), annuities and individual retirement accounts. 

The report also notes that assets earmarked for retirement are a significant component of U.S. households’ financial assets, accounting for 36 percent of all household financial assets at the end of the second quarter.  

The decline in asset value is attributed to market volatility.

ICI also noted that the share of participants who stopped making contributions in the first half of 2010 was significantly lower than in the first half of 2009. Only 1.5 percent of defined contribution participants stopped contributing in the first half of this year, compared to 4.6 percent during the same time last year. 

A copy of the report can be found at www.ici.org.