Fidelity Investments, the nation's largest 401(k) administrator, said Thursday that the average balance of$75,900 at the end of the quarter was the highest sinceit began tracking the data in 2000.
Three months earlier, the average account balance among the 12 million accounts that Fidelity administers was $72,800.
The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index rose nearly 6% in the July-to-September period, boosting investment returns in 401(k)s. The gain helped investors recover from a nearly 3% market decline in the previous quarter.
Workers' 401(k)s are typicallyinvested in bonds as well as stocks to help reduce volatility. A broad U.S. bond market index rose about 1% in the second quarter, substantially less than the stock market. So workers with large portions of their accounts invested in stocks enjoyed better performance than those with more in bonds.
Account contributions from employees' paycheck deductions also rose in the latest quarter, as did 401(k) contributions from employers, known as company matches.
Annual contributions from workers now average about$7,900, up more than 7% from the level five years ago.Company matches average$3,420, up 19% from the third quarter of 2007.
Many companies reduced or suspended their 401(k) matches to conserve cash during the recession that began in late 2007. But as the economy has gradually improved, many employers have restored those matches,and then some.
"When employers were cutting contributions, many told us that they felt badly about it, and that restoring them would be one of the first things they wanted to do once they saw signs of improvement," said Beth McHugh, vice president of market insights at Boston-based Fidelity.
