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March 23, 2011 at 02:06 PM
Retirement plans, though not quite at their pre-recession levels, are getting there, a report released Tuesday by The Spectrem Group found. Assets rose 11% to $10.2 trillion in 2010, following an 18% rise in 2009.
Somewhat surprisingly, defined-benefit plans are recovering most quickly, according to Spectrem; 84% of public sector retirement plan assets are held in defined-benefit plans, and have grown every year since 2005 except for 2008. The report noted that the current focus on limiting government spending will likely result in lower asset growth for employer-funded plans.
Defined-contribution plans account for 62% of assets in private sector plans, and are favored by unions. Among corporate plans, defined-contribution plans have almost twice the assets of defined-benefit plans.
The financial crisis certainly dampened defined-benefit plan growth, however. While assets in private sector DB plans are growing, they are not at pre-recession levels; in fact, they've barely surpassed 2005 levels, and growth is expected to continue falling. Defined-contribution plans, on the other hand, have grown just under 5% in the last five years, and – assuming we don't experience another financial crisis – should continue growing over the next five years.
401(k) plans are the primary private sector defined-contribution plan, according to the report. Although most plans have fewer than 50 participants, assets are concentrated in plans with over 1,000 participants. New plans are expected to grow between 2% and 3% on average, especially among small companies. Asset growth is expected to grow between 8% and 10% over the next five years.
Spectrem calls small companies the "engine of growth" for 401(k) plans. The cost of a plan is the main reason for companies switching provider, followed by investment and service issues. Just 5% of small companies said the plan design or features was the main reason for switching providers.
