According to new findings from Fidelity Investments, the average 401(k) account balance reached an all-time high at the end of the first quarter, hitting at nearly $75,000.
Market gains accounted for two-thirds of the rise in balances.
At $74,900, average account balances rose nearly 12 percent from a year ago, and it's a 58 percent jump over 2009. Account balances are at the highest amount recorded since Fidelity, one of the world's largest financial services providers, began tracking them in 1998.
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Statistics from the Employee Benefits Research Institute show average 401(k) accounts plummeted during the financial crisis in 2008, falling 27.8 percent, with an almost 32 percent rise the next year.
Nearly one in 10 participants also increased his or her deferral rate during the first quarter, according to Fidelity, the largest percentage taking such action since Fidelity started tracking the figure in 2006.
Beth McHugh, Fidelity's vice president of marketing insight, tells the Associated Press one-third of the increase is the result of workers' own added contributions and company matches.
A portion of the increase can also be attributed to automatic escalation used by some companies in their 401(k) plans. The feature increases a worker's paycheck deduction automatically each year unless they opt out. Many of the automatic increases kick in during the first quarter.
When breaking the numbers down further, Fidelity found that workers who have saved continuously with the same employer for at least 10 years have amassed an average balance of $191,000. For the 10-year continuous contributor aged 55 or older, the average balance has reached $233,000.
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