The number of 401(k) millionaires just hit a record high: 'People are staying the course.'

By Jessica Hall

Women hit a new investment milestone but still trail men in some metrics

Fidelity's retirement-account millionaires have been saving and investing for roughly 25 to 26 years, the firm said.

The number of 401(k) millionaires hit a record - and retirement-account balances reached new peaks - during the third quarter, fueled by overall market gains and consistently high retirement-savings rates, Fidelity Investments said on Thursday.

While the market in recent days has shown weakness and Americans are facing affordability challenges with everyday expenses and inflation, retirement savers remained focused on the long term during the quarter, the investment firm said.

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The average 401(k) balance was $144,400, up 5% from the second quarter and up 9% from the third quarter of last year, Fidelity said. The median 401(k) balance was $33,500, meaning half the balances were above that figure and half were below. The average 403(b) balance was $131,200, up 5% from the second quarter and up 10% from a year ago, and the median 403(b) balance was $32,413.

Meanwhile, the average IRA balance was $137,902, up 5% from the second quarter and up 7% from a year ago. The median IRA balance was $11,288.

"While these numbers are very encouraging, we know there's a lot of anxiety and a lot of concern out there. People are [likely] making some types of changes to their finances, but we're not seeing people pull back on retirement savings," said Mike Shamrell, vice president of thought leadership at Fidelity.

The gains in the third quarter were boosted by the overall market trends, which saw the S&P 500 SPX gain 8.1% during the quarter. Since the start of the fourth quarter, however, the S&P 500's performance has been turbulent.

"Across the board, people are staying the course. Market swings are part of the journey. We urge people to focus on the long term and not make changes to their savings strategy due to market events. Younger workers are realizing they have a long road ahead of them until retirement and even older workers nearing retirement need their money to last 10, 20, 30 years in retirement," Shamrell said.

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During the third quarter, total 401(k) savings rates remained consistent at 14.2% of a worker's salary, with an employee contribution rate of 9.5% and an employer contribution rate of 4.7%, Fidelity said. This is close to Fidelity's savings-rate guidance of 15%.

Overall, 654,000 people were 401(k) millionaires in the third quarter, a new record, the investment firm said. These retirement millionaires have account-holding tenures of roughly 25 to 26 years, and the number is up from 595,000 in the second quarter of 2025 and 544,000 in the third quarter of 2024.

"This group is mostly Gen X and boomers who have been long-term savers. It's not that they had a hot stock in their 401(k) and became a millionaire overnight. It's very much a case of taking a long-term approach," Shamrell said.

Generation X is made up of people born between 1965 and 1980, while baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964.

New milestone for women

Women who have stayed in their 401(k)s consistently for 15 years crossed the half-million dollar mark for the first time ever, hitting average balances of $501,100 - an increase of 16.5% from the third quarter of last year.

While this marked a new milestone for female long-term retirement savers, it was still lower than the average balance of $663,500 for men who have saved for 15 years, Fidelity said. However, women's balances are growing at a faster rate of 16.5%, compared with a rate of 15.9% for men, the investment firm said.

Women tend to take breaks from the workforce for family caregiving reasons more than men do, and women also face a lingering pay gap, Shamrell said. In Fidelity's universe of 52 million retirement accounts, men outnumber women by a factor of two to one, he said.

Only 18% of women are very confident that they will be able to fully retire with a comfortable lifestyle, according to a separate report by the nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies in collaboration with Transamerica Institute. In fact, more than one in four women expect Social Security to be their primary source of retirement income, but 77% of women are concerned that Social Security will not even be there for them when they are ready to retire.

Roth accounts show increased popularity

Roth accounts are also gaining in popularity. As many as 17.5% of 401(k) participants contributed to a Roth 401(k) in the third quarter, up from 15.9% in the prior year, Fidelity said.

Younger generations are leading with Roth contributions, with 19% of millennials and 20% of Gen Z members contributing to a Roth. Millennials are those born between 1981 and 1996, while Generation Z is made up of people born between 1997 and 2012.

Among IRAs, Roth accounts are favored among younger generations, as well. with Gen Z is investing 95% of their IRA contributions in Roth accounts, compared with 75% for millennials and 66% for Gen X.

"We're starting to see a lot of the information out there take effect and influence positive behaviors such as savings rates and long-term focus and not having emotional reactions to market ups and downs," Shamrell said.

-Jessica Hall

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