Retirement assets in the United States grew in the second quarter of 2021, says a recently released report.
According to the Investment Company Institute (ICI), retirement assets comprised 33% of all household assets in the United States. At the end of the second quarter, U.S. retirement assets were 4.8% higher than at the end of the first quarter.
| Retirement Assets, First Quarter | Retirement Assets, Second Quarter |
| $35.5 trillion | $37.2 trillion |
But the results of the second quarter of 2021 are not the only good news. The second quarter is the fourth consecutive quarter in which retirement assets grew in the United States from the previous quarter.
| Quarter | Retirement Assets | Change Since Previous Quarter |
| 2nd, 2020 | $31.1 trillion | -- |
| 3rd, 2020 | $32.4 trillion | + $1.3 trillion |
| 4th, 2020 | $34.9 trillion | + $2.5 trillion |
| 1st, 2021 | $35.5 trillion | + 600 billion |
| 2nd, 2021 | $37.2 trillion | + 1.7 trillion |
Drilling down, in the second quarter, the sources of retirement assets included the following:
- Annuity reserves: 2.5%
- Private-sector pension plans: 3.5%
- Government pension plans: 7.5%
- Defined contribution plans: 10.4%
- IRAs: 13.2%
In dollar figures, the retirement assets in these categories amount to the following; all have grown since the first quarter.
| Asset Source | First Quarter, 2021 | Second Quarter, 2021 | Change, Q1 to Q2 |
| Annuity reserves | $2.45 trillion | $2.532 trillion | + $82 billion |
| Private-sector pension plans | $3.398 trillion | $3.532 trillion | +$134 billion |
| Government pension plans | $7.234 trillion | $7.523 trillion | +$289 billion |
| Defined contribution plans | $9.847 trillion | $10.365 trillion | +$518 billion |
| IRAs | $12.555 trillion | $13.237 trillion | +$682 billion |
The assets held in IRAs grew more strongly than those in other categories, up 5.4%; however, the assets in DC plans grew almost as much, by 5.3%. The largest component of DC plan assets was 401(k) plans, which accounted for $7.3 trillion of the $10.365 trillion. Another $1.2 trillion came from 403(b) plans, and 457 plans accounted for $410 billion.
In another sign of good news, the ICI reports that the assets of private-sector pension plans were higher than those plans’ unfunded liabilities. The difference was $100 billion.
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