DC Assets Fall in 2008; Share of Retirement Assets Rises

Total U.S. defined-contribution assets dropped 21 percent last year to $3.8 trillion, but the percentage of retirement assets coming from DC plans rose to an all-time high of 49 percent, according to a Spectrem Group report.

Also in the report released Wednesday, March 18, “Retirement Market Insights 2009,” Spectrem wrote that U.S. retirement assets tumbled 24 percent in 2008 to $7.86 trillion.

The overall share of retirement assets from DC plans grew from 47 percent in 2007.

Assets in corporate 401(k) plans, which account for 71 percent of all corporate DC assets, declined 23 percent to $1.94 trillion.

Total DB assets were $4.03 trillion in 2008, down 27 percent from the previous year.

The report was based on data taken from public and private sources, as well as from Spectrem, as of December 31.

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

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