This year's robust stock market has allowed more Americans to add a welcome adjective to their personal bio: millionaire. As 2025 winds down, a record 654,000 Fidelity clients now belong to the "401(k) millionaire" club, with similar upticks logged by Alight and T. Rowe Price, reports the Wall Street Journal. In the latter two groups, the percentage of accounts tracked with $1 million or more were 3.2% and 2.6%, roughly double the figures from 2022. The Fidelity total is up from 595,000 in the previous quarter, notes Yahoo Finance.
The Journal ties the trend to increased participation in 401(k) plans, with about half of private-sector employees now enrolled, paired with a rising stock market. While roughly 40% of US households still face the risk of falling short in retirement, those who stay the course with their 401(k)s tend to be in better shape. The average contribution rate at Vanguard, for example, has climbed to a record 7.7%. Most 401(k) millionaires are age 50 or older, but Yahoo notes that millennials—those ages 29 to 44—make up the fastest-growing age group joining the ranks.
Still, crossing the million-dollar mark is often more of a psychological milestone than a ticket to lavish living. Many of these so-called "moderate millionaires"—a term coined by UBS to describe those with $1 million to $5 million in assets—say they still watch their spending closely and don't consider themselves wealthy by traditional standards. As one 401(k) millionaire tells the Journal: "We're coupon clippers."
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