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The share of Americans in the labor force, known as the participation rate, is hovering around an almost four-decade low as the population ages and discouraged job seekers give up looking for work.

At the end of the third quarter, recordkeepers reported that 18.3 percent of participants had outstanding loans. Before the Great Recession began in 2008, the rate had been 15.3 percent.

At a time when the nations legislative wheels seem mired in partisanship, the last week of January turned out to be a busy one for retirement plan proposals.

After the U.S., where assets rose 12 percent to $18.9 trillion, were Japan with 10.2 percent of assets, and the United Kingdom, with 10.1 percent.

Public defined benefit plans, endowments and foundations also lost ground in January as a result of the falling equity markets.

Defined benefit plan assets increased 8.11 percent to $5.67 trillion and defined contribution assets jumped nearly 17 percent to $2.68 trillion.

States need to regularly check on pension obligations and liabilities and other long-term expenses to ensure funding obligations are met, said a report.

The Grand Canyon Institute, based in Phoenix, said switching employees from a traditional pension plan would likely cause shortfalls as contributions from employees dried up.