Consistent participation in 401(k) plans key to account balance growth, study finds

Retirement plan participants who consistently participated between 2010 and 2019 accumulated sizable 401(k) plan account balances, says a study by the Investment Company Institute (ICI) and the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

The average 401(k) plan account balance for consistent participants rose each year from 2010 through year-end 2019, except for a slight decline in 2018, the two organizations said in a press release.

“Overall, the average account balance increased at a compound annual average growth rate of 15.6% from 2010 to 2019, rising from $58,658 to $216,690 at year-end 2019,” the two groups said. “The median 401(k) plan account balance for consistent participants increased at a compound annual average growth rate of 18.8% over the period, to $108,433 at year-end 2019.”

The growth in plan account balances for consistent participants generally exceeded the growth rate for all participants in the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database. By year-end 2019, 53% of the consistent participants had account balances of more than $100,000, compared with about one-fifth of plan participants in the entire database.

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