Retirement assets have bounced back from their recession lows, recovering nearly all their losses, a report by Chicago-based Spectrem Group revealed.

Total US retirement assets, which include both defined contribution and defined benefit plans, rose 18 per cent to $9.3 trillion in 2009, up from $7.9 trillion in the previous year, according to a report Retirement Market Insights 2010 by Spectrem Group.

"The retirement market bounced back in 2009, recovering nearly all of the recession-driven losses of the previous year,” said Gerald O’Connor, a director at the firm.

“Defined contribution plans, which account for half of all retirement assets including 401(k)s, recorded a 19 per cent rise," O’Connor added.

Assets held in defined contribution plans reached $4.5 trillion, up from last year’s $3.8 trillion. As a percentage of all retirement assets, these plans held steady at 49 per cent. By themselves, 401(k)s, which account for 71 per cent of all defined contribution assets, rose 20 per cent to $2.3 trillion in 2009, up from $1.9 trillion in 2008.

The report also showed that the number of participants saying they would like more advice and assistance with investment decisions rose to 58 per cent in 2009 from only 26 per cent in 2008.