A new Investment Company Institute study of participant activity in 401(k) plans shows that individuals are still committed to saving for their retirement, despite market volatility.

The study, "Defined Contribution Plan Participants' Activities, First Half 2011," looked at recordkeeper data from nearly 24 million defined contribution plan participant accounts. It found that only 1.6 percent of defined contribution plan participants stopped contributing in the first half of 2011, compared to 1.7 percent in 2010.

It also found that the number of individuals taking withdrawals from their accounts stayed the same as in 2010, at 2.1 percent, and loan activity edged up slightly, "a pattern of activity that also was observed in the wake of the bear market and recession earlier in the decade," the report stated. Hardship withdrawals were slightly higher in 2011, compared with 2010. At the end of June 2011, 18.3 percent of DC plan participants had loans outstanding, compared to 18.2 percent at the end of 2010.