The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) has been analyzing trends in individual retirement account (IRA) balances, contributions, withdrawals and asset allocations. Their database contains information on 27.9 million accounts owned by 22.1 million unique individuals.

In their latest the report, the EBRI discussed the following characteristics of retirement savers:

• The average account balance in 2015 was $125,045. The median balance was $31,742. Wealth increased with age: Those 70 or older had average and median account balances of $228,818 and $80,968, respectively. Comparatively, those 25 and younger had average and median account balances of $11,531 and $3,565, respectively.
  
• Among consistent owners—those who have had a positive account balance from 2010 through 2015—the average and median balance was $146,513 and $45,458. Just 17.8% of consistent account owners had an account balance below $5,000, whereas 15.7% had account balances greater than $250,000.
  
• Just over 14% of individuals made a contribution to their IRA in 2015, up from 12.1% in 2010. The maximum contribution was made by 54.4% of account holders in 2015. Among consistent account owners, the average annual contribution made in 2015 was $4,591 to a traditional IRA and $4,161 to a Roth IRA.
  
• Nearly a quarter of consistent account owners (23.8%) took a withdrawal in 2015. The median withdrawal rate was 5.4 %. One-quarter (25%) of those age 71 or older withdrew an amount in excess of the amount required by the Internal Revenue Service. Almost all withdrawal activity occurred in traditional IRAs, with just 3.9% of consistent Roth IRA owners taking a distribution.
  
• Equities accounted for 54.7% of allocations for all account owners. Bonds comprised 15% of allocations in 2015, while cash (including money market funds and CDs) accounted for 10.6%. Equity exposure was highest for the 45–54 age group (61%) and lowest for the under 25 age group (49.7%). It ranged between 51.7% and 52.9% for those age 65 and older. At the extremes, 27.1% of consistent account owners had no exposure to equities in 2010 and 2015, whereas 16.8% had 100% exposure in both years.
  

Source: “Individual Retirement Account Balances, Contributions, Withdrawals, and Asset Allocation Longitudinal Results 2010–2015: The EBRI IRA Database,” Craig Copeland, Ph.D., Employee Benefit Research Institute, January 10, 2018.