The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has released a new Issue in Brief:
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by Anqi Chen and Alicia H. Munnell
The brief’s key findings are:
- IRAs were intended to give those without an employer plan access to a tax-deferred savings vehicle.
- Today, IRAs hold nearly half of all private retirement assets, but most of these funds are rollovers from 401(k)s, rather than contributions.
- The 14 percent of households who do contribute to IRAs include:
- higher-income dual-earners who also save in a 401(k);
- moderate-income singles or one-earner couples, often with a 401(k); and
- higher-income entrepreneurs with no current 401(k).
- higher-income dual-earners who also save in a 401(k);
- One way to turn IRAs back into an active savings vehicle – one used more for contributions – is to auto-enroll all workers without an employer plan in an IRA.
