401(k) plan assets hit record $3.1 trillion: Report

Assets held in 401(k) plans hit a record $3.1 trillion at the end of 2010, due in large part to the strong equities market, according to an industry trade group report.

The plans held $3 trillion in assets in 2007, but the value of assets plunged to $2.2 trillion in 2008 as stock markets were battered by the weak economy.

However, asset values rebounded to $2.7 trillion in 2009 and increased to $3.1 trillion in 2010, according to a report released this week by the Washington-based Investment Company Institute.

The ICI also found that 2.4% of defined contribution plan participants, including 401(k) plan enrollees, stopped making contributions in 2010, down from 3.4% in 2009 and 3.7% in 2008.

In addition, 10.3% of participants changed the asset allocation of their accounts last year, down from 11.8% in 2009 and 14.4% in 2008.

Earlier this week, a Fidelity Investments report found that the average value of individual 401(k) accounts balances hit a record $74,900 as of March 31, eclipsing the prior record of $71,500 set at the end of last year.

The ICI report, available at www.ici.org, is based on a survey of recordkeeping firms servicing plans with more than 23 million participants.