Rollovers into traditional individual retirement accounts occur evenly across all age groups and play a significant role in the growth of IRA assets, according to research by the Investment Company Institute and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.
Each five-year age band from the 30 to 34 age group up to the 60 to 64 age group accounts for 10% to 13% of rollovers. This relatively equal distribution reflects that rollovers occur across the full working career, not just at retirement, the two groups said.
Of traditional IRA investors, 12.3% rolled over money in 2007, and 11.3% did so in 2008.
Further, half of households owning traditional IRAs have done a rollover at some point.
"Americans' retirement nest eggs are benefiting from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act provision that permits workers to roll over employer-sponsored retirement plan accruals into traditional IRAs upon job separation," said Sarah Holden, the senior director of retirement and investor research at the ICI.
