--- title: You May Be a 401(k) Millionaire Thanks to the Surging Stock Market description: As the stock market soared in 2023, more Americans became 401(k) millionaires, with their retirement accounts worth over $1 million. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 602 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2024-02-27T21:45:15.000Z' modified: '2024-02-27T21:45:15.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News word_count: 347 canonical: https://money.com/401k-millionaire-increase-stock-market/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo-illustration of a piggy bank rocket shooting into the sky.](https://img.money.com/2024/02/News-401k-Millionaires.jpg) Recent stock market gains propelled a significant rise in the number of retirement savers who’ve reached the milestone of a $1 million 401(k) balance. In the fourth quarter, Fidelity Investments reports seeing a 20% jump in the number of 401(k) millionaires. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, the number was up 11.5%. “Retirement savers ended the year on a positive note with improved market conditions and consistent contributions helping boost average account balances to their highest level in nearly two years,” Fidelity said in a [report](https://www.fidelity.com/about-fidelity/Q4-2023-retirement-analysis). The [S&P 500](https://money.com/what-is-the-sp-500-index/) has been on a strong run since November and reached new record highs in February. The large cap stock index is up about 27.5% in the past year as inflation has eased and other economic conditions have improved. The Nasdaq and Dow Jones indexes are up 39.7% and 19.2%, respectively. ## Put a gold-backed IRA into your golden years ### Gold IRAs are similar to traditional retirement accounts, but they are backed by investments in gold and other precious metals, such as silver, platinum, and palladium. To get started, click on your state. [Invest in Gold](https://money.com/pr/g648fe360239?ap_referrer=%2F401k-millionaire-increase-stock-market%2F) ## Average 401(k) balances are soaring The average balance 401(k) is $118,600, which is a 14.1% increase from the fourth quarter of 2022, according to Fidelity, which is the largest 401(k) provider in the U.S. Americans often invest their 401(k)s in mutual funds or ETFs, which can include [stocks](https://money.com/how-to-buy-stocks/) and [bonds](https://money.com/what-is-a-bond/). The strong performance of the stock market has lifted values of the holdings in these accounts. The other factor is an increase in contribution: In 2023, 37% of 401(k) Fidelity savers increased their retirement contribution rate. The average total savings rate, which includes employer contributions, is 13.9%, according to Fidelity. Fidelity’s expert say the positive trends in 401(k) balances are a reminder of the importance of long-term investing and patience with your 401(k). There will be [tough years for 401(k)s like 2022](https://money.com/drop-in-401k-millionaires-stock-market/), but in the long run, balances generally rise. “2023 gave us the highs of the highs, and the lows of the lows, but encouragingly, many retirement savers took the long view and stayed the course through it all,” Sharon Brovelli, president of workplace investing at Fidelity Investments, said in the report. ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/19305/medium_414558a1-29d4-465e-b5d1-921febc39ed2.png) American Hartford Gold can help you take control of your financial future [Invest in Gold](https://money.com/pr/cdf8db27d320?ap_referrer=%2F401k-millionaire-increase-stock-market%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/401k-millionaire-increase-stock-market/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "401(k)", "item": "https://money.com/401k/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You May Be a 401(k) Millionaire Thanks to the Surging Stock Market" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/401k-millionaire-increase-stock-market/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/401k-millionaire-increase-stock-market/", "name": "You May Be a 401(k) Millionaire Thanks to the Surging Stock Market", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2024-02-27T21:45:15.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/401k-millionaire-increase-stock-market/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/401k-millionaire-increase-stock-market/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-02-27T21:45:15.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "You May Be a 401(k) Millionaire Thanks to the Surging Stock Market", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2024/02/News-401k-Millionaires.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-401k-Millionaires" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Grieve", "url": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/#author", "description": "Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. 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