Trump says ‘401(k)s are way up’ — but workers are tapping them at record rates

In his State of the Union tackle, President Donald Trump stated “your 401(ok)s are way up” — and so they are, but hardship withdrawals are additionally up, new information exhibits.

“Since I took workplace, the standard 401(ok) steadiness is up by at least $30,000,” Trump stated within the annual speech earlier than Congress final month.

The common 401(ok) steadiness rose by $14,700 to $146,400 over the course of 2025, ending the yr up 11% from a yr earlier, in response to new information launched Wednesday from Constancy Investments, the nation’s largest supplier of 401(ok) financial savings plans.

The common particular person retirement account steadiness additionally gained $9,561 to $137,095 in 2025, Constancy discovered — a 7% improve yr over yr.

Retirement account steadiness averages elevated by 13%, pushed primarily by market features, a separate report by Vanguard Group discovered.

Throughout all plans, the common account steadiness was $167,970 as of the tip of 2025, in response to Vanguard’s report, additionally launched Wednesday.

Rising balances have been additional buoyed by a number of “nonfinancial elements,” reminiscent of constructive financial savings behaviors, stated Mike Shamrell, Constancy’s vp of thought management

The common 401(ok) contribution charge, together with employer and worker contributions, now stands at 14.2%, slightly below Constancy’s advised financial savings charge of 15%.

Nevertheless, one other good stretch for the foremost indexes did assist: The S&P 500 notched its third consecutive yr of strong features, rallying 24% in 2023, 23% in 2024 and 16% in 2025. The Nasdaq jumped 20% in 2025, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Common rose almost 13%.

Nonetheless, savers additionally tapped their accounts to liberate money, which consultants say signifies underlying monetary pressure.

The share of workers with an impressive mortgage in 2025 was 19.4%, up barely from 18.9% in 2024, in response to Constancy. About 9% of workers took out a brand new mortgage from their 401(ok) final yr, together with for hardship causes. That is down from 9.5% in 2024.

Vanguard’s report confirmed an uptick in hardship withdrawals. Roughly 6% of workers took a hardship withdrawal in 2025, a record excessive.