Fidelity® Q3 2024 Retirement Analysis: Retirement Savers Benefit From Continuous Growth

Gen X Savers Make Impressive Gains Across All Retirement Accounts

Auto Portability Positioned to Help 2.2 Million Participants on Fidelity Platform

According to the Fidelity Investments®’ latest Q3 2024 retirement analysis, retirement savers experienced another quarter of growth thanks to continuing strong contribution levels and positive market conditions, with 401(k) and 403(b) account balances reaching the highest average on record. Additionally, Gen X-ers¹ continue to make positive strides with retirement savings, with increases in both IRA contributions and the number of IRA accounts receiving contributions.

“We are continuing to observe a dedication to saving for retirement, with contributions to these vehicles holding steady if not increasing,” said Sharon Brovelli, president of Workplace Investing at Fidelity Investments. “This is meaningful as retirement savers prepare to close out 2024 and establish new budgets and financial goals for the coming year. 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.”

As one of the country’s leading workplace benefits providers² and America’s No. 1 IRA provider³, Fidelity’s latest analysis of savings behaviors and account balances for more than 49 million IRA⁴, 401(k)⁵, and 403(b)⁶ retirement accounts can be found here.

“We are pleased to see Gen X retirement savers continue to make solid gains with their retirement savings,” says Roger Stiles, president of Fidelity Wealth. “The oldest individuals 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 quarter’s retirement analysis also puts a spotlight on Auto Portability. Recent studies⁷ have shown that 41% of workers “cash out” their 401(k) savings when changing jobs, which can often result in unnecessary taxes and penalties—not to mention the high loss potential of retirement savings. As a result of SECURE 2.0 legislation, Fidelity collaborated with Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) to create a consortium of workplace retirement plan recordkeepers called the Portability Services Network (PSN). The purpose of the PSN is to accelerate the adoption of “Auto Portability,” which can help workers avoid cashing out when changing employers by automatically rolling over their savings to their new workplace account. For plan sponsors, Auto Portability is an optional feature that can be added to a retirement plan at no cost. As of October 2024, more than 6,000 Fidelity plans adopted auto portability, with 2.2 million active participants in the Fidelity network.

Additional details and insight on retirement trends and data can be found in Fidelity’s latest quarterly edition of “Building Financial Futures” as well as the Workplace Insights hub, which explores original research, data-driven insights, and the latest industry trends.

About Fidelity Investments

Fidelity’s mission is to strengthen the financial well-being of our customers and deliver better outcomes for the clients and businesses we serve. Fidelity’s strength comes from the scale of our diversified, market-leading financial services businesses that serve individuals, families, employers, wealth management firms, and institutions. With assets under administration of $15.0 trillion, including discretionary assets of $5.8 trillion as of September 30, 2024, we focus on meeting the unique needs of a broad and growing customer base. Privately held for 78 years, Fidelity employs more than 75,000 associates across the United States, Ireland, and India. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit https://www.fidelity.com/about-fidelity/our-company.

Keep in mind that investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. The value of your investment will fluctuate over time, and you may gain or lose money.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Views expressed are of the date indicated, based on the information available at that time, and may change based on market or other conditions. Fidelity does not assume any duty to update any of the information.

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1</sup> Generations as defined by Pew Research: Baby Boomers are individuals born between 1946 – 1964, Gen X are individuals born between 1965-1980, Millennials include individuals born between 1981 – 1996 and Gen Z includes individuals born between 1997 – 2012.

² Based on PLANSPONSOR Magazine's “2024 Recordkeeping Survey,” June 2024 and “Plan Administration Guide, Part 1” which offers insight into the provider marketplace for defined benefit (DB), stock plan and health savings account (HSA) administration, May 2018.

³ Based on Cerulli Associates’ U.S. Retirement End-Investor 2024: Top-10 IRA Providers by AUA, 4Q 2021–4Q 2023.

⁴ Fidelity business analysis of 15.8 million IRA accounts as of June 30, 2024. Considers only active participants with balance.

⁵ Fidelity Investments Q2 2024 401(k) data based on 26,000 corporate defined contribution plans and 24 million accounts as of June 30, 2024. These figures include the advisor-sold market but exclude the tax-exempt market. Excluded from the behavioral statistics are non-qualified defined contribution plans and plans for Fidelity’s own employees.

⁶ Fidelity Investments Q2 2024 403(b) data based on analysis of 15.8 million IRA accounts as of June 30, 2024. Considers average balance across all active plans for 6.33 million unique individuals employed in tax-exempt market.

⁷ University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business, “Cashing Out Retirement Savings at Job Separation,” November 2022.

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