401(k) plan balances hit record high for 2012: Fidelity

A recent analysis reveals that 401(k) plan balances hit a record high.

Aided by strong investment results, employees' 401(k) average account balances hit a record $75,900 at the end of the third quarter of 2012, according to an analysis released Thursday.

For the three month period ending Sept. 30, employees' average account balances jumped 4.2% from the prior quarter, and 18% compared with the end of the third quarter of 2011 when account balances averaged $64,300, according to Fidelity Investments.

Strong investment results accounted for 78% of the third quarter account balance increase, and 22% was attributable to participant action, such as boosting contributions, Fidelity said.

In fact, 4.6% of plan participants increased their deferral rate during the third quarter, compared with 2.8% who decreased it.

The Fidelity analysis, which is based on 12 million 401(k) plan accounts in more than 20,000 employer plans, shows how the accounts have recovered from the Great Recession of 2008-2009, when account balances were battered by the plunge in the equities market.

At $75,900, the average account balance at the end of the 2012 third quarter is up by more than 64% compared with end of the first quarter of 2009 — considered the bottom of the last economic downturn — when the average account balance was $46,200.