Not easy to become a 401(k) millionaire as balances dip in first quarter, Fidelity says

Susan Tompor | Detroit Free Press | June 4th, 2025

Retirement savers have faced plenty of white knuckle days in 2025 where stock market conditions — and on-again, pause-again tariffs — put everyone’s nerves on edge.

Amazingly, no matter how awful things felt some days, many have not seen a double-digit fallout in their 401(k) savings in the first quarter, according to the latest data from Fidelity Investments.

Average 401(k) retirement account balances fell 3% from late last year through the first three months this year to $127,100. Savers still saw a 1% gain in balances from the first quarter a year ago, according to Fidelity Investment data.

Not as many 401(k) millionaires

It wasn’t as easy to become a millionaire during the first quarter’s rough ride. Fidelity reported that 512,000 savers were 401(k)-created millionaires in the first quarter, down about 4.6% from 537,000 in the fourth quarter of 2024. These savers had at least $1 million in their retirement account.

Fidelity saw a record number of 401k-created millionaires in the third quarter last year at 544,000 savers.

Fidelity Investment’s 401(k) data is based on 25,300 defined contribution plans at various companies across the country. The plans covered 24.4 million participants as of March 31.

Pain worse for those investing in auto stocks, other companies

The key word here is diversified. Some investors continue to face deep losses in 2025, particularly if they invested a large chunk of their money in one stock or industry.

General Motors stock, for example, was down 10.47% year to date from its close of $53.27 a share on Dec. 31, 2024, through the June 2 close of $47.69 a share.

Stellantis was down 25% from its close of $13.05 a share on Dec. 31 through its close on June 2 of $9.78 a share.

Ford stock is up 0.8% from year-end 2024 when the stock price closed at $9.90 a share through June 2 when the stock closed at $9.98 a share.

The worst losses were centered around companies that were impacted by the uncertainty surrounding tariffs and trade war,” said Sam Huszczo, a chartered financial analyst in Lathrup Village.

“Think Tesla or Nike, who are very dependent on a confident consumer and relying extensively on international markets, manufacturing, and supply chains.”

Tesla stock was down 15% year-to-date through June 2; Nike was down 18.6% during that same time before dividends.

This year, many investors also sold stock in some companies as they took profits from the high-flying stocks of 2024, like technology stocks, Huszczo said.

“What goes up fast, also comes down fast. As the market darlings of last year turned into this year’s cautionary tales.”

We continue to witness unpredictability, and a sense that things are different from economic shifts in the past.