--- title: After Years of Growth, the Number of 401(k) Millionaires Has Dropped description: The number of 401(k) millionaires fell as stock market volatility dragged retirement account balances lower. 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: 600 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: Katherine Peach role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/katherine-peach/ bio: Katherine Peach is an associate editor with a focus on news and email at Money. She didn’t always intend to write about money. She’s a classically trained pianist who dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. However, in 2007 Katherine began working in financial publishing as an editor for Agora Inc. (Apparently, unearthing ideas about improving your personal finances isn’t such a bad career alternative!) Katherine’s writing and editing work has been featured in Investing Daily, Clever, Investor Junkie, The Palm Beach Letter, Truth & Plenty, Independence Monthly, NICHE, AmericanStyle, AntiqueWeek, Millennial Money, Money Done Right, TheStreet, Sure Dividend and many others. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with concentrations in Archaeology and Ancient Languages and a minor in Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. education: University of Maryland, Baltimore County at_money_since: 2025 articles: 14 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes published: '2026-05-29T12:30:37.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News word_count: 369 canonical: https://money.com/401k-millionaires-stock-market-drop/ 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/). ![Lady walking on top of coins with 401k in the background](https://img.money.com/2026/05/News-401k-Millionaires.jpg) The number of [401(k) millionaires](https://money.com/401k-millionaire-record-millennials/) fell for the first time in a year as stock market volatility in the first quarter weighed on account balances. On Thursday, Fidelity said there were 645,000 401(k) millionaires at the end of March, down from an all-time high of 665,000 at the end of last year. The drop in the first quarter marks a 3% decline from the record in December. Looking not much farther back, the number of millionaires has experienced healthy growth. Fidelity reported 512,000 401(k) millionaires at the end of the first quarter of 2025. The current number of millionaires is about 26% higher than it was a year ago. ## How to become a 401(k) millionaire Retirement savers become 401(k) [millionaires](https://money.com/the-most-boring-way-to-become-a-millionaire/) by making sizable contributions on a consistent basis for decades. It's considered unproductive and even unwise to [obsessively check your balance](https://money.com/dollar-scholar-check-401k-how-often/) — or worry too much about short-term declines. Market volatility causes 401(k)s to fluctuate, but long-term investors should stay focused on the bigger picture. The S&P 500's return was -4.3% in the first quarter. Since then, stocks are up about 15% since April 1, the start of the second quarter. Given that performance, a live look at 401(k) balances today would likely show that the number of millionaires has bounced back. Here are the number of 401(k) millionaires over the past five quarters, compiled from multiple online reports: - Q1 2025: 512,000 - Q2 2025: 595,000 - Q3 2025: 654,000 - Q4 2025: 665,000 - Q1 2026: 645,000 ## Average 401(k) balance According to Fidelity's 2026 first-quarter [retirement analysis](https://about.fidelity.com/data-and-insights/q1-2026-retirement-analysis), the average balance has increased 11% in the past year, rising from $127,100 to $141,000. Like the number of millionaires, the average 401(k) balance dipped 3.7% in the quarter, dropping from the record high of $146,400 reached at the end of December. ## Average 401(k) savings rate Fidelity reports a record average savings rate of 14.4%, including employer matches. That's an increase from 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Fidelity pointed to [automatic enrollment features](https://money.com/this-401k-change-afford-retirement/) in 401(k) plans, which encourage saving. The share of plans with auto enrollment is 46%, an increase from 37% in 2021, the report said. The average employer contribution also [increased](https://newsroom.fidelity.com/pressreleases/fidelity-q1-2026-retirement-analysis--401-k--and-403-b--savings-rates-reach-record-levels--despite-u/s/f8f4ee41-ab58-4f14-9adb-dcb4feb3f2c7) to a record high of $2,080, up from $2,020 a year before. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/401k-millionaires-stock-market-drop/#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": "After Years of Growth, the Number of 401(k) Millionaires Has Dropped" } ] }, { "@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-millionaires-stock-market-drop/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/401k-millionaires-stock-market-drop/", "name": "After Years of Growth, the Number of 401(k) Millionaires Has Dropped", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2026-05-29T12:30:37.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/401k-millionaires-stock-market-drop/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/401k-millionaires-stock-market-drop/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "After Years of Growth, the Number of 401(k) Millionaires Has Dropped", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2026/05/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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