401(k) retirement plans showed significant rebounds in 2009, recouping much of their losses from 2008, a new study by Fidelity Investments finds.
Average 401(k) account balances ended the year at $64,200, up 5.7% from the end of the third quarter and up 28% for the year, according to Fidelity, Boston. During the same year, Standard & Poor’s 500 index showed a total return of 26%, Fidelity notes.
The average deferral rate remained relatively flat for the year at about 8.2%, but the fourth quarter saw the continuation of a trend of more participants electing to increase their deferral rates than to decrease them, Fidelity says.