Finance

401(k) balances hit second highest on record: Fidelity

Published

2 months ago

February 27, 2025

Ramsey Solutions financial expert George Kamel weighs in on Americans working past retirement age and provides advice for investors.

Balances for 401(k) retirement accounts hit the “second-highest average on record” in the final quarter of 2024, according to new data from Fidelity Investments.

The financial services company found in its newly-released fourth-quarter retirement analysis that balances for that type of retirement plan averaged $131,700.

That figure marked a jump of 11% year-over-year, according to Fidelity.

Close up of a 401(k) statement with a pie chart indicating asset allocation.To see more of my financial images click on the link below: (iStock / iStock)

Compared to 2024’s third quarter, however, average balances for 401(k)s posted a 0.5% decline, the analysis showed. The third-quarter was when 401(k) plans notched their “highest average on record” for balances, with an average of $132,300.

The rate at which 401(k) retirement plan holders socked away money inched up year-over-year to 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to Fidelity.

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Similar to 401(k)s, average balances for two other popular retirement vehicles – IRAs and 403(b)s – saw small declines of 1% from the third quarter but showed year-over-year increases.

Fidelity pegged the average balance for 403(b) accounts at $117,800 in the fourth quarter, up 11% compared to a year ago.

Meanwhile, IRA accounts held average balances of $127,543. That’s an increase of 8% from the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the report.

A senior couple using a laptop to help organize their retirement plans. (iStock)

Fidelity’s fourth-quarter analysis included over 50 million retirement accounts.

Overall, the financial services company said people building nest eggs “experienced a year of positive growth” in 2024.

Retirement contribution rates went up for almost 40% of those saving for their golden years, Fidelity also reported. On average, the increase was 2.9%.

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“As we have for several quarters now, we observed upwards savings trends in Q4. This is encouraging news and is particularly important for many Gen X savers, who are able to make catch-up contributions,” Head of Fidelity Wealth Roger Stiles said in a statement. “This is an important consideration as the April tax deadline approaches where investors may be able to contribute to an IRA for potential tax deductions for 2024.”

The deadline for individual tax return filing is April 15, according to the IRS.

Fidelity also highlighted the retirement saving efforts of Generation X – people born between 1965 and 1980 – in its latest analysis.

When it came to IRAs, Gen Xers boosted their average contributions 16% year-over-year, according to the financial services company.

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Meanwhile, Gen Xers that have been putting money in 401(k) accounts regularly over 15 years achieved average account balances of $589,400, a jump of 18% from the same period last year, per Fidelity.

A person puts money into a retirement savings jar. (iStock / iStock)

Americans think $1.46 million is the amount of money necessary to experience a comfortable retirement, according to a study released by Northwestern Mutual last year.

The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found in an August 2024 report that the median age of retirement for middle-class retirees was 62.

Finance

Paul Tudor Jones says stock market will hit new lows even if Trump cuts China tariffs to 50%

Published

2 hours ago

May 6, 2025

Business Finance News

Paul Tudor Jones speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2020.

Adam Galica | CNBC

Billionaire hedge-fund manager Paul Tudor Jones said Tuesday stocks are bound to hit new lows even if President Donald Trump tones down his aggressive tariffs on China.

“For me, it’s pretty clear. You have Trump who’s locked in on tariffs. You have the Fed who’s locked in on not cutting rates. That’s not good for the stock market,” Jones said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “We’ll probably go down to new lows, even when Trump dials back China to 50%.”

The widely followed investor’s bearish comments came after Trump’s rollout of the highest levies on imports in generations shocked the world last month, triggering extreme volatility on Wall Street. The S&P 500 suffered a severe sell-off but has since recouped much of the losses, sitting 8% below its all-time high.

Trump has slapped tariffs of 145% on imported Chinese goods this year, prompting China to impose retaliatory levies of 125%. China said last week it is evaluating the possibility of starting trade negotiations with the U.S.

“He’ll dial it back to 50% or 40%, whatever. Even when he does that … it’d be the largest tax increases since the 60s,” Jones said. “So you can kind of take 2%, 3% off growth.”

Jones, the founder and chief investment officer of Tudor Investment, believes stocks haven’t found a bottom as macroeconomic conditions continue to deteriorate. The Fed has held its key overnight lending rate steady since December in a range between 4.25% and 4.5%. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said he expects policymakers to “wait for greater clarity” on trade policy ramifications before adjusting any further.

“Unless they got really dovish and really, really cut, you’re probably gonna go to new lows,” Jones said. “And then when we’re new lows, the hard day will start to follow, and it’ll probably create the Fed to move, create Trump to move. And then we’ll get some kind of reality.”

Jones shot to fame after he predicted and profited from the 1987 stock market crash. He is also the chairman of nonprofit Just Capital, which ranks public U.S. companies based on social and environmental metrics.