Americans are putting more money into 401(k)s this year—see how you compare – CNBC

Despite the stock market’s poor performance since the beginning of the year, Americans have increased contributions to their 401(k) retirement accounts over the course of 2022, according to a recently published Fidelity study.The S&P 500 dropped by about 5% in the last quarter, and that was reflected in a lowered average 401(k) balance of $121,700 — a 7% decrease from the previous quarter. But those poor returns didn’t stop workers from increasing their 401(k) contributions by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2022. On average, Fidelity said, U.S. workers are now contributing 14% of their paychecks to those retirement accounts.That’s the highest savings rate recorded since Fidelity started tracking the metric in 2010, and just below Fidelity’s recommended rate of 15%.”While the market’s performance does impact account balances in the near term, the majority of retirement savers continued to demonstrate positive savings behavior,” Kevin Barry, president of Workplace Investing at Fidelity Investments, wrote in a statement accompanying the findings.Fidelity’s overall average 401(k) account balance may be an imperfect point of comparison for you — it includes accounts of all age groups, from entry-level employees to late-career corporate executives. Here’s a more filtered breakdown, according to Fidelity data obtained by CNBC Make It:Age…
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