Average 401(k) Account Balances Plummeted Last Year. How Does Yours Compare to the Typical American’s?
More Americans are taking hardship withdrawals from their accounts, too.
Inflation‘s hitting Americans — and their retirement savings — hard.
The average balance in employer-sponsored contribution plans dropped more than 20% last year, according to new from Vanguard Group reported by .
Vanguard tracks roughly five million retirement accounts and found that the average balance for 401(k)s and 403(b)s was $112,572 in 2022 — a $30,000 dip from the year before. The decline was “driven primarily by the decrease in equity and bond markets,” per the report.
Related: Americans Aren’t Saving Enough — Inflation, Spending to Blame
Additionally, one in three survey participants had an account balance of less than $10,000, while one in four had one exceeding $100,000 and just 12% had one of $250,000 or more.
The number of Americans taking a hardship withdrawal from their employer-sponsored accounts is also on the rise: 2.8% did so in 2022 — up from the 2% that did before the pandemic, according to the report.
Inflation has led consumers to withdraw an average of $616.73 from their savings accounts to keep up with their expenses, according to a New York Wealth Watch Survey reported by .
Related: Americans’ Debt Just Exceeded $17 Trillion for the First Time
Americans are also accumulating significant credit card debt to make ends meet: They hold a record debt amount of nearly $991 billion, per the Federal Reserve Bank’s latest .
Inflation‘s hitting Americans — and their retirement savings — hard.
The average balance in employer-sponsored contribution plans dropped more than 20% last year, according to new from Vanguard Group reported by .
Vanguard tracks roughly five million retirement accounts and found that the average balance for 401(k)s and 403(b)s was $112,572 in 2022 — a $30,000 dip from the year before. The decline was “driven primarily by the decrease in equity and bond markets,” per the report.
Related: Americans Aren’t Saving Enough — Inflation, Spending to Blame
Additionally, one in three survey participants had an account balance of less than $10,000, while one in four had one exceeding $100,000 and just 12% had one of $250,000 or more.
The number of Americans taking a hardship withdrawal from their employer-sponsored accounts is also on the rise: 2.8% did so in 2022 — up from the 2% that did before the pandemic, according to the report.
Inflation has led consumers to withdraw an average of $616.73 from their savings accounts to keep up with their expenses, according to a New York Wealth Watch Survey reported by .
Related: Americans’ Debt Just Exceeded $17 Trillion for the First Time
Americans are also accumulating significant credit card debt to make ends meet: They hold a record debt amount of nearly $991 billion, per the Federal Reserve Bank’s latest .
