The stock market took retirement savers on some wild-mouse roller coaster kind of turns early in 2026.
We saw the Dow soar to close above the 50,000 mark for the first time ever on Feb. 6, but then jerk back and unexpectedly drop nearly 11% by late March following the sudden U.S. air strikes and ongoing war in Iran
Looking at the entire first quarter, though, the blows weren’t nearly as bad. When it comes to 401(k)s, savers on average saw a drop of 4% in their account balances from the end of 2025 through the end of March, according to the latest data released by Fidelity Investments. Fidelity released its first-quarter retirement analysis on Thursday, May 28, offering tidbits that could give insight into how you stack up next to everyone else.
Who wants to be a 401(k) millionaire? The first few months of 2026 were not easy on anyone — even the 401(k) millionaire class. During the first quarter, Fidelity reported 645,000 savers who can be dubbed 401(k)-created millionaires.