401k Assets Grow to $143.9 Billion

401k statistics for the year as reported by the U. S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA):

Number of 401k Plans: 29,869
Active 401k Participants: 10,315,000
Total 401k Assets: $143.9 billion
401k Contributions: $24.32 billion
401k Benefit Payments: $16.39 billion

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Some Myths About 401k’s
Myth 3: Most employers suspended their company match during the recession and have not reinstated it.

• Only 8 percent of Fidelity plan sponsors reduced or eliminated their employer contributions during the height of recession in 2008 and 2009. Since then, more than half (55%) have already or indicated they plan to reinstate this benefit within the next 12 months.

• Larger companies (5,000+ employees) are at the forefront of this trend with 71 percent having already reinstated or planning to reinstate their employer contribution.

• Overall, 80 percent of active participants within corporate defined contribution plans recordkept by Fidelity received employer contributions in 2010.
Fidelity Investments
401k Recent Articles
401k Facts

The reality today is that beyond baseline Social Security income, most Americans will have to rely on their personal savings for retirement.
Improving retirement security for Americans requires at its core individual responsibility for saving and investing. Some have argued that retirement security can only be achieved by reversing the trends of the past 25 years and embracing a more European model whereby the government (through enhanced Social Security) and employers (through DB plans) play a greater role. Regardless of the merits of these ideas, they are not economically feasible for the foreseeable future in the U.S. Social Security is likely impossible to sustain at currently scheduled levels (let alone expanded levels), with trust fund reserves expected to run out in less than 20 years. DB plans are approximately 80% funded in the aggregate, have largely been frozen or terminated, and are in terminal decline, as companies deal with the implications of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) and the state of their balance sheets. The reality today is that beyond baseline Social Security income, most Americans will have to rely on their personal savings for retirement. (SOURCE: McKinsey & Company, Restoring Americans' Retirement Security: A Shared Responsibilty)

401k Assets Grow to $143.9 Billion

Some Myths About 401k’s

401k Recent Articles

401k Facts

The reality today is that beyond baseline Social Security income, most Americans will have to rely on their personal savings for retirement.