Here's the Newest 401(k) Average Account Value by Age. Where Do You Stand?

Comparing yourself to other investors can be a dangerously misleading exercise. Other investors may have different investing goals than you, and they certainly earn different incomes. Some future retirees will likely burn through their savings far too quickly, while others will actually grow their net worth even after they quit working. In other words, your biggest concern should be ensuring your plan works for you.

That being said, it never hurts to at least know how average investors of your age are doing, if only to use as a mental benchmark.

With that as the backdrop, here's a closer look at mutual fund company Fidelity's findings from its third-quarter review of all of the 401(k) accounts it services. Hopefully you're doing better than most...not that this necessarily means you're doing well enough.

Average 401(k) account balance by age

Fidelity regularly posts updated aggregated data for its 401(k) plan customers, offering up insights as to where the crowd currently stands. Its most recent look also includes a breakdown of its average 401(k) account balances by age group. (And yes, as you might guess, older investors who've had more time to save and grow their money are doing better than younger investors.) Here's where each age group is as of the end of September.

Data source: Fidelity.

Don't panic if you're behind the average of other people your age. As the same report also highlights, a relatively small handful of investors are skewing the figures -- particularly baby boomers' averages -- sharply higher. Fidelity adds that it's now serving 544,000 million-dollar(+) 401(k) accounts, up from the second quarter's count of 497,000 thanks to recent market gains. For ordinary contributory or Roth IRAs, 418,111 of them have reached or eclipsed a seven-figure value compared to just a little under 400,000 three months earlier.

Still, the average is the average, and not a bad benchmark to begin with if you know you need to start doing things differently.

The two big secrets (which aren't exactly secrets)

The data brings up a big question: How are some people becoming so wealthy with their 401(k) accounts while others aren't doing nearly as well?

Obviously income is a factor; the more you earn, the more you can afford to tuck away in these workplace retirement accounts.

This might not be as much of a difference-maker as you might imagine, though. Time is a key factor, too, and arguably the biggest. As Fidelity also made a point of highlighting in its quarterly report, a handful of Gen-Xers actually boast bigger account values than the average boomer's. Specifically, Gen X savers who have been consistently contributing to their 401(k) plans for 15 years are sitting on an average account balance of $586,100.

Bolstering all of these account balances is the benefit of the employer's contribution to a 401(k) in addition to the employee's own deposits. Last quarter, while the overall average contribution to an employer-sponsored retirement account was a respectable $2,350 (all age groups), the average employer kicked in an additional $1,240. That's an immediate return of roughly 50% on the employee's payroll deposits into workplace retirement plans.

This doesn't necessarily mean people with ordinary IRAs are doing poorly. As was noted above, there are over 418,000 Fidelity customers with million-dollar IRAs.

Given the option, though, everyone should first aim to "max out" the amount of money they're eligible to receive from an employer before contributing to a retirement account outside of a work-based plan.

Any action is better than none at all

Again, the numbers in the table above aren't necessarily good or bad, or even in the right ballpark for you. You could be fine with less; you might also be headed for hardship later in life even if you have more.

That's why it's so important to make a realistic budget now as well as for later in life, just as it's important to make the most of your investments now while you can. You may need to amp up your prospects for net growth. Or, perhaps you're taking on too much risk right now. It just depends.

Whatever the case, the proverbial devil is in the details. A lot of people just don't want to double-check that their portfolio is balanced as intended, nor do they want to look for ways to cut costs so they can afford to make bigger contributions to retirement accounts. Those seemingly little things, however, are where the money battle is won or lost.

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