401(K) Plan Asset Allocation, Account Balances, and Loan Activity in 2002

Abstract

This paper examines asset allocation, account balance, and loan activity of a large representative group of 401(k) plan participants as of year-end 2002 using data gathered by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI) in their collaborative effort known as the EBRI/ICI Participant-Directed Retirement Plan Data Collection Project. The EBRI/ICI 401(k) database is the most comprehensive source of 401(k) plan participant-level data available to date, containing 15.5 million active 401(k) plan participants in 46,310 plans with $618.6 billion in assets as of year-end 2002.

Keywords: 401(k) plans, Asset allocation, Employment-based benefits, Pension plan assets, Pension plan loans, Retirement plans, Self-directed investments

JEL Classification: D31, G11, J26