401(k) Retirement Account Balances are Meager

Employees are not saving much money in their 401(k) retirement accounts. According to EBRI Issue Brief No. 272, a report based on retirement data maintained by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (ERBI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI), the average account balance was $51,569 as of the end of 2003.

Account balances tended to increase with age and the number of years people had invested. The largest average balance was $178,181 for people in their sixties who had contributed for more than 30 years.

For all participants about 67% of their assets were invested in stocks through equity and balanced mutual funds and company stock.

About 18% of plan participants had outstanding loans and the average balance was $6,839. So the average 401(k) account balance minus loans was $44,730.