Short Takes: Banks Seen Retaining Retirement Plan Assets

Banks did a good job reeling in assets reinvested from retirement plans in 1997 and 1998, a study found.

Twenty-five percent of respondents said they chose a bank to manage their lump sum distributions, according to the study of 870 people by Spectrem Group of San Francisco. Banks were second only to mutual fund companies, chosen by 37% of respondents.

A majority of the assets were reinvested into individual retirement accounts, said Gerald M. O'Connor, the senior research consultant who manages the retirement research program at Spectrem.

"Banks have been very conscious of the IRA market and spent a lot of money over the years" to capture that business, he said.

Banks were the manager of choice for 24% of those who took distributions after changing jobs, though just 12% of people in that category had their original plan with a bank, the survey found.

Banks managed lump sum distributions for 25% of the retirees, and 24% of them had their original plan with a bank.