Finance

Gen X helps drives retirement savings balances to new record

Published

6 months ago

December 5, 2024

Generation X has been boosting its efforts to build nest eggs for retirement, according to the newly-released data from Fidelity Investments.

The financial services company reported Thursday in its third-quarter retirement analysis that Gen Xers socking away money in individual retirement accounts (IRAs) upped their total contributions by a whopping 35% from the same period in 2023.

It considered Gen X to be people born in the years 1965 through 1980.

Compared to a year ago, more Gen Xers also put money into their IRA accounts in the third quarter, according to Fidelity. That jump was 23%.

BEST US CITIES TO RETIRE IN 2025

The financial services company said in a press release that Gen X made “impressive gains across all retirement accounts” including IRAs, 401(k)s and 403(b)s.

When it came to Gen Xers that have been playing the long-game and setting aside money in 401(k) plans on a regular basis for the past 15 years, there was a 6% quarter-over-quarter increase in their average account balance to $586,100, per Fidelity’s data.

“We are pleased to see Gen-X retirement savers continue to make solid gains with their retirement savings,” President of Fidelity Wealth Roger Stiles said in a statement. “The oldest members of this generation will be approaching retirement in the next five to ten years, making this the perfect time to focus on securing a nest egg that can help them live more comfortably throughout their retirement years.”

This comes as Fidelity found that people saving up for their golden years overall “experienced another quarter of growth thanks to continuing strong contribution levels, and positive market conditions.” Its analysis included over 49 million retirement accounts.

Two types of retirement plans – 401(k)s and 403(b)s – notched their “highest average on record” for balances in the third quarter, the financial services company said.

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For 401(k) accounts, balances averaged $132,300 in the third quarter, a quarter-over-quarter increase of 4% and a year-over-year increase of 23%, according to Fidelity.

Average balances in 403(b) plans notched similar increases, hitting $119,300.

Meanwhile, the average balance for IRAs came in at $129,200 for the quarter.

Fidelity’s retirement analysis reported the total average savings rate in the third quarter “held steady.” It pegged it at 14.1%, just shy of the 15% the company recommends.

“Consistent retirement contributions during various market cycles is important, but despite what happens in the market, maintaining this commitment in the long run is what will help set Americans up for a future of financial wellness and security,” Fidelity Investments President of Workplace Investing said in a statement.

AMERICANS REVEAL THEIR BIGGEST FINANCIAL REGRET ABOUT POTENTIAL RETIREMENT

Earlier this year, Northwestern Mutual said Americans think $1.46 million is the amount of money they must have in order to “comfortably” retire.

About 57% of working Americans reported thinking they were on the backfoot when it came to socking away money for retirement, a separate Bankrate survey published in late September found. On the other hand, 15% expressed they were “significantly” or “slightly ahead of where you should be” for it.

Another 22% believed they were “right on track,” per Bankrate.

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Finance

Walmart taps own fintech firm for credit cards after Capital One exit

Published

6 hours ago

June 9, 2025

Business Finance News

A Capital One Walmart credit card sign is seen at a store in Mountain View, California, United States on Tuesday, November 19, 2019.

Yichuan Cao | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Walmart‘s majority-owned fintech startup OnePay said Monday it was launching a pair of new credit cards for customers of the world’s biggest retailer.

OnePay is partnering with Synchrony, a major behind-the-scenes player in retail cards, which will issue the cards and handle underwriting decisions starting in the fall, the companies said.

OnePay, which was created by Walmart in 2021 with venture firm Ribbit Capital, will handle the customer experience for the card program through its mobile app.

Walmart had leaned on Capital One as the exclusive provider of its credit cards since 2018, but sued the bank in 2023 so that it could exit the relationship years ahead of schedule. At the time, Capital One accused Walmart of seeking to end its partnership so that it could move transactions to OnePay.

The Walmart card program had 10 million customers and roughly $8.5 billion in loans outstanding last year, when the partnership with Capital One ended, according to Fitch Ratings.

For Walmart and its fintech firm, the arrangement shows that, in seeking to quickly scale up in financial services, OnePay is opting to partner with established players rather than going it alone.

In March, OnePay announced that it was tapping Swedish fintech firm Klarna to handle buy now, pay later loans at the retailer, even after testing its own installment loan program.

One-stop shop

In its quest to become a one-stop shop for Americans underserved by traditional banks, OnePay has methodically built out its offerings, which now include debit cards, high-yield savings accounts and a digital wallet with peer-to-peer payments.

OnePay is rolling out two options: a general-purpose credit card that can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted and a store card that will only allow Walmart purchases.

Customers whose credit profiles don’t allow them to qualify for the general-purpose card will be offered the store card, according to a person with knowledge of the program.

OnePay didn’t yet disclose the rewards expected with the cards, though the general-purpose card is expected to provide a stronger value, said this person, who declined to be identified speaking ahead of the product’s release. The Synchrony partnership was reported earlier by Bloomberg.

“Our goal with this credit card program is to deliver an experience for consumers that’s transparent, rewarding, and easy to use,” OnePay CEO Omer Ismail said in the Monday release.

“We’re excited to be partnering with Synchrony to launch a program at Walmart that checks each of those boxes and will help serve millions of people,” Ismail said.