U.S. Retirement Assets: Data in Brief

U.S. Retirement Assets: Data in Brief

U.S. Retirement Assets: Data in Brief
September 20, 2023
The Federal Reserve’s Financial Accounts of the United States provides data on the amount of
retirement assets in the United States. Retirement assets are held in pension plans sponsored by
John J. Topoleski
employers and in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). As of December 31, 2022, a total of
Specialist in Income
$37.8 trillion was held in U.S. retirement plans and accounts, of which $26.3 trillion was in
Security
employer-sponsored plans and $11.5 trillion was in IRAs. Retirement plan holdings include a

variety of financial assets, including equities, securities, debt, mutual funds, claims on owed
Elizabeth A. Myers
sponsor contributions, and other financial assets.
Analyst in Income Security

Employer-sponsored plans are classified as either defined benefit (DB) or defined contribution
(DC) plans and are sponsored by private employers, the federal government, or state and local
John H. Gorman
governments. In 2022, and in most years, a majority of DB holdings were held by government-
Research Assistant
sponsored plans. A majority of DC holdings were held by private employer-sponsored plans.

From 2013 to 2022, total real (inflation-adjusted) retirement assets increased by $4.4 trillion

(13.3%). Total real retirement assets peaked at $44.3 trillion in 2021. The growth in IRA assets
contributed most to retirement asset growth with a $2.8 trillion real increase from 2013 to 2022. DC plans sponsored by the
federal government grew by the greatest percentage rate at 43.4%. Holdings of financial assets by private sector DB, federal
DB, and state and local DC plans all decreased in inflation-adjusted terms from 2013 to 2022.

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Contents
Historical Retirement Asset Data .............................................................................................. 3

Figures
Figure 1. Total Holdings and Components of Financial Assets in U.S. Pension Plans and
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) ....................................................................................... 1

Tables
Table 1. Financial Composition of U.S. Pension Plans and Individual Retirement
Accounts (IRAs) ........................................................................................................................... 2
Table 2. End-of-Year Total Financial Assets in U.S. Pension Plans and Individual
Retirement Accounts (IRAs) from 2013 to 2022 ......................................................................... 4

Contacts
Author Information .......................................................................................................................... 4

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U.S. Retirement Assets: Data in Brief

The Federal Reserve’s Financial Accounts of the United States reported that the total amount of
U.S. retirement assets (outside of Social Security) was $37.8 trillion at the end of 2022.1 Figure 1
shows (1) the amount of financial assets (in trillions of dollars) in pension plans sponsored by
private sector employers, state and local governments, and the federal government; (2) the
amount of assets in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs); and (3) the components of these
assets. Table 1 provides more detail on the components of U.S. retirement financial assets in
dollar terms. Table 2 provides historical data on inflation-adjusted end-of-year asset levels from
2013 to 2022.
Figure 1. Total Holdings and Components of Financial Assets in U.S. Pension Plans
and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
In Trillions of Dollars, as of December 31, 2022

Source: Figure constructed by CRS from Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Financial Accounts
of the United States, https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/fof/FOFTables.aspx. See tables L.118.b, L.118.c, L.119.b,
L.119.c, L.120.b, L.120.c, and L.229.
Notes: IRAs include employer-sponsored IRAs and state-administered IRA programs. Mutual funds invest in a
variety of assets, including corporate equities and debt. As a result, the total amount of corporate equities and
debt held by pension plans likely exceeds the values presented in the Corporate Equities and Debt categories in
the figure.
Figure 1 shows six categories of retirement financial assets as classified by CRS: short-term
securities, debt, corporate equities, mutual funds, defined benefit (DB) plans claims on sponsors,
and other financial assets. Short-term securities include checkable deposits, savings deposits,
money market funds, and security repurchase agreements. Debt is composed of securities such as
commercial paper, U.S. Treasury securities, U.S. government agency and government-sponsored-
enterprise-backed securities, foreign bonds, and corporate bonds. Corporate equities include

1 The data were downloaded on June 8, 2023, and are available at https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/
default.htm.
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U.S. Retirement Assets: Data in Brief

publicly traded shares and private equity. Mutual funds pool money from investors and invest the
money in securities such as stocks, bonds, and debt. DB claims on sponsors are funds owed but
unpaid by plan sponsors to the plan. Unpaid funds are treated as financial assets. Other financial
assets include, but are not exclusively composed of, insurance contracts and contributions
receivable.
Table 1. Financial Composition of U.S. Pension Plans and Individual Retirement
Accounts (IRAs)
In Billions of Dollars, as of December 31, 2022
State and Local
Private Sector
Federal Government

Government
IRAs

DC
DB
DC
DB
DC
DB
Short-Term
$203.3
$117.8
$2.2
$100.9
-
$0.2
$427.0
Securities
Debt
$496.4
$1,037.7
-
$1,008.2
$321.9
$2,397.4
-
Corporate
$1,997.7
$1,092.0
-
$2,921.4
$403.4
$15.9
-
Equities
Mutual Funds
$4,089.7
$327.7
$198.0
$51.8
-
-
$4,398.0
Other
$1,352.2
$508.1
$289.0
$971.2
-
-
$6,659.0
Financial
Assets
DB Claims on
-
$623.5
-
$4,412.1
-
$1,397.7
-
Sponsor
Total
$8,139.4
$3,706.9
$489.2
$9,465.6
$725.3
$3,811.2
$11,484.0
Financial
Assets
Source: Table constructed by CRS from Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Financial Accounts
of the United States, https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/fof/FOFTables.aspx. See tables L.118.b, L.118.c, L.119.b,
L.119.c, L.120.b, L.120.c, and L.229.
Notes: IRAs include employer-sponsored IRAs and state-administered IRA programs. Mutual funds invest in a
variety of assets, including corporate equities and debt. As a result, the total amount of corporate equities and
debt held by pension plans likely exceeds the values presented in the Corporate Equities and Debt categories in
the table.
Many employers in both the private and public sectors offer one of two types of pension plans:
DB plans or defined contribution (DC) plans. Some employers offer both types. Individuals can
also save for retirement outside of the workplace with IRAs.
In DB plans, participants usually receive monthly payments in retirement based on a formula that
typically uses either (1) a combination of length of service, accrual rate, and average of final
years’ salary or (2) a flat dollar amount times the number of months or years in the plan.
In DC plans—such as 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, 457(b) plans, and the federal government’s
Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)—workers and/or employers contribute a portion of their wages (up to
an annual dollar limit that is adjusted annually for changes in the cost of living) to individual
accounts established by the employers.2 Employer contributions may be a match, which is equal
to some or all of the worker’s contribution, or a contribution made regardless of the employee’s

2 See Internal Revenue Service, 2023 Limitations Adjusted as Provided in Section 415(d), etc., Notice 2022-55,
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-22-55.pdf.
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U.S. Retirement Assets: Data in Brief

contribution. The account may accrue investment returns and can be used as a source of income
in retirement.
An IRA is a privately held retirement savings account funded by individual contributions from
wage income and rollovers (i.e., transfers) of DC plan savings at job change or retirement and
lump sums from DB plans, typically at retirement. Most assets in IRAs are from rollovers.
About two-thirds of U.S. households had a financial stake in the U.S. retirement system in 2019
(outside of Social Security, which covers most households). An analysis of the 2019 Federal
Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) found that among all U.S. households (which
includes working and retired households) in 2019:
• 63.3% had DC assets, participated in DB plans, or had IRA assets;
• 37.5% had DC assets;
• 30.2% participated in DB plans; and
• 25.4% had IRA assets.3
Historical Retirement Asset Data
Table 2 reports the inflation-adjusted amounts in (non–Social Security) retirement assets from
2013 to 2022. The total amount of financial assets increased by 13.3% in inflation-adjusted terms
from $33.4 billion in 2013 to $37.8 billion in 2022. Federal DC assets, IRAs, and private DC
assets showed the largest real increases (43.4%, 32.2%, and 27.7%, respectively). The increase in
assets is likely from both investment returns and increases in the number of participants. For
example, the S&P 500 was 108.7% higher at the end of 2022 compared to at the end of 2013.4
The number of participants in private sector DC plans was 8.1% higher in 2020 (the most recent
year for which data are available) compared to 2013,5 and the number of taxpayers with IRAs
was 18.8% higher in 2019 (the most recent year for which data are available) compared to 2013.6

3 The SCF is a triennial survey of U.S. household finances conducted on behalf of the Federal Reserve. The most recent
survey data available is from 2019 and is available at https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/scfindex.htm.
4 The S&P 500 closed at 1,848.36 on December 31, 2013, and 3,839.50 on December 30, 2022. See
https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/index/spx/historical.
5 U.S. Department of Labor, Private Pension Plan Bulletin, Historical Tables and Graphs 1975-2020, October 2022,
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/EBSA/researchers/statistics/retirement-bulletins/private-pension-plan-bulletin-
historical-tables-and-graphs.pdf.
6 Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Tax Stats—Accumulation and Distribution of Individual Retirement
Arrangements, https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-accumulation-and-distribution-of-individual-retirement-
arrangements.
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U.S. Retirement Assets: Data in Brief

Table 2. End-of-Year Total Financial Assets in U.S. Pension Plans and Individual
Retirement Accounts (IRAs) from 2013 to 2022
In Trillions of Dollars; Adjusted to December 2022 Dollars
State and
Local
Federal
Individual
Private Sector
Government
Government
Retirement
Accounts
Year
DC
DB
DC
DB
DC
DB
(IRA)
Total
2013
$6.4
$4.3
$0.7
$8.8
$0.5
$4.0
$8.7
$33.4
2014
$6.7
$4.3
$0.6
$9.2
$0.6
$4.0
$9.2
$34.6
2015
$6.6
$4.3
$0.6
$9.6
$0.6
$4.1
$9.4
$35.0
2016
$6.9
$4.2
$0.5
$9.7
$0.6
$4.1
$9.9
$36.0
2017
$7.9
$4.2
$0.6
$9.9
$0.7
$4.1
$11.4
$38.6
2018
$7.3
$4.1
$0.5
$10.1
$0.7
$4.1
$10.8
$37.5
2019
$8.6
$4.2
$0.5
$10.1
$0.7
$4.1
$12.6
$40.9
2020
$9.7
$4.1
$0.6
$10.3
$0.8
$4.2
$14.1
$43.7
2021
$10.3
$3.9
$0.6
$9.8
$0.9
$4.0
$14.8
$44.3
2022
$8.1
$3.7
$0.5
$9.5
$0.7
$3.8
$11.5
$37.8
Percentage Change
27.7%
-14.8%
-25.5%
7.1%
43.4%
-4.3%
32.2%
13.3%
(2013-2022)
Source: Table constructed by CRS from Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Financial Accounts
of the United States, https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/fof/FOFTables.aspx. See tables L.118.b, L.118.c, L.119.b,
L.119.c, L.120.b, L.120.c, and L.229.
Notes: DC refers to defined contribution plans; DB refers to defined benefit plans. Data are from the end of
the fourth quarter of each year (December 31). Data are adjusted for inflation to December 2022 dol ars using
the not-seasonally-adjusted December Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City
Average (CPI-U) value, https://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/data/consumerpriceindexhistorical_us_table.htm.

Author Information

John J. Topoleski
John H. Gorman
Specialist in Income Security
Research Assistant

Elizabeth A. Myers

Analyst in Income Security

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U.S. Retirement Assets: Data in Brief

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
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