This paper provides an overview of the nature of targeted retirement saving programs in the United States and a summary of the effects of these programs on the saving behavior and wealth of U.S. households. The paper is divided into five sections. The first presents descriptive information on the structure of IRAs and 401(k)s, and summarizes the changing patterns of participation in this programs during the last decade. Section two summarizes information on the relative importance of assests in household wealth. The third section draws on previous studies of both IRA and 401(k) contributors to address the extent to which contributions to these special accounts represent "new saving." Section four explores the relationship between the enormous increase in personal targeted retirement saving in the 1980s and aggregate measures of personal saving in the United States. There is a brief conclusion.