Investor demographics
By John Schroy, on March 1st, 2006 | 
Despite tax benefits and a generation of strenuous marketing efforts, over half of US households do not have Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).
In fact, 29% of US households have neither IRAs or employer-sponsored retirement plans. IRAs owners are typically middle-aged, married, college educated, and employed — and with much higher incomes than people that don’t have IRA savings.
Americans between 50 and 64 years without formal retirement savings have median total financial assets of only $2,500.
Retirement saving 2004
By John Schroy, on February 22nd, 2006 | 
American households, as of December 2004, had accumulated $3,475.1 billion in tax-deferred Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), according to the Federal Reserve Flow of Funds Accounts.
The largest portion of these savings were held as “self-directed accounts”, in which a wide diversity of investment is permissible.
Over the four years, 1999 to 2002, investors added $837.2 billion to their IRAs, which, added to the $118 billion in decline in value over the period, means that the market crash cost IRA savers about $955 billion.
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