One of the stranger aspects about the early pandemic was that, despite all the economic uncertainty, many Americans were able to get>'Retirement savings continues to be a priority, especially among Gen Z investors'
It wasn't just the average balances that are putting a pep in the step of retirement savings watchers: A lot of other figures in the Fidelity report indicate that Americans are keeping up their good financial habits.
The total number of individual retirement accounts at Fidelity grew to a historic 12.3 million, a 13% increase over the year before. A lot of that growth came from Gen Zers, who increased the number of IRAs in their demographic by 146% from 2020.
The balance of the average IRA stayed relatively unchanged from the third quarter at $135,600, but that's still $7,000 more than it was a year, according to Fidelity.
The amount that people are investing in their retirement accounts also increased. A record 3 in 8, 38%, people increased their 401(k) contributions in 2021, with an average increase of more than 3%. Nearly a third of people with 403(b) accounts increased their contributions.
Plus, almost 5 in 6 savers took advantage of their companies' retirement match policies to add to their 401(k)s.
'You're not just investing for six months or a year out. You're investing for 10-, 20-, 30-years out.'
Fidelity's end-of-year report indicates that many Americans are checking all the boxes that many financial advisers think are essential for solid retirement saving.
That's a good thing, says James Royal, senior reporter at Bankrate. The key thing to remember is that you're investing for the long term, he says.
