More Retirement Plan Participants Want Investment Advice

In fact, the number of retirement plan participants seeking advice about how to invest their retirement funds has more than doubled since 2008, according to a Spectrem Group report. More than half (58%) of retirement plan participants would like more advice and assistance with investment decisions, up from 26% the prior year.

The report also found that Americans’ retirement savings accounts are recovering from their lows during the economic downturn. Total U.S. retirement assets, which include both defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit plans, rose 18% to $9.3 trillion in 2009, up from $7.9 trillion in 2008.

Assets held in DC plans rose 19% to $4.5 trillion, up from $3.8 trillion the year before.  As a percentage of all retirement assets, DC plans held steady at 49%. By themselves, 401(k)s, which account for 71% of all DC assets, rose 20% to $2.3 trillion in 2009, up from $1.9 trillion in 2008.

“The retirement market bounced back in 2009, recovering nearly all of the recession-driven losses of the previous year,” said Gerald O’Connor, a director at Spectrem Group, in a news release.

The Spectrem report, “Retirement Market Insights 2010,” is based on data derived from both public and private sources as well as Spectrem surveys. 

Information about purchasing the report is available at www.spectrem.com.