Individual retirement account assets reached an estimated $5.3trillion in the first quarter of 2012, a nearly 9 percent rise overthe $4.8 trillion in estimated assets for 2011, according to a newreport.

Cerulli Associates, Boston, released this finding in theNovember edition of “Evolution of the Retirement Investor 2012:Understanding 401(k) Participant Dynamics and Trends in Rolloverand Retirement Income,” a Cerulli Special Quantitative Update. Thereport includes an analysis of defined contribution planparticipants, individual retirement account (IRA) assets and therollover decision, and the retirement income landscape.

Rollover contributions totaled $307 billion in 2011. Nearlytwo-thirds of the assets (65.4 percent or $207 billion) were rolledover through an advisor, the average balance of a rollover totaling$115,000. Of the $201 billion, 83 percent ($167 billion) washandled by an existing advisor. The balance ($34 billion or 17percent) went through a new advisor, the research shows.

The remaining retirement assets were, the report adds, rolledover to a self-directed IRA ($105 billion) or a new employer’s plan($2 billion.)

More than half of the survey participants (52.2 percent)indicated they rolled over their 401(k) balance “immediately after leaving” anemployer-sponsored plan. Smaller percentages of plan participantstook action within a year of leaving (24.7 percent), still hold anaccount with their employer (12.8 percent), waited more than yearsafter leaving before taking action (5.8 percent) or acted withintwo years of their departure (4.6 percent).

More than 7 in 10 of the plan participants said either they werenot sure whether their plan charges an investmentfee (37.4 percent) or said there were no fees (35.3 percent).Fewer respondents noted their plan charges investment fees thatalso pay for administration fees (10.9 percent), investment feesand an additional administration fee (10.5 percent) or aninvestment fee only (6 percent).

When asked about factors to consider when determining how muchto contribute to their 401(k) plan, almost half of those polled(48.6 percent) indicated a matching contribution by their company.More than 4 in 10 (42.3 percent) flagged their personal budget.