401(k) Millionaires Climb to All-Time Highs As Americans Double Down on Stock Market Gamble

Fortune favors the bold, and American retirement savers are proving just how daring they’ve become. The ranks of 401(k) millionaires have swelled to a record-breaking 595K accounts, marking a 16% quarterly surge as more workers tie their retirement futures to equities. This boom stems from a combination of consistent contributions during market turbulence and Americans’ growing appetite for stock-heavy portfolios.

• Employees in their late 30s now allocate a record-high 88% of their 401(k) to equities, while those in their early 60s have increased their stock exposure to 60%.
• The average 401(k) balance hit a new high of $137.8K in Q2 2025, reflecting an 8.4% year-over-year jump despite earlier volatility from tariff-related market turbulence.

High-stakes gamble: This equity-heavy tilt marks a major shift in retirement strategy, with target-date funds for new workers now 92% in stocks versus 85% in 2014. Fidelity’s Mike Shamrell believes savers who “stayed the course, continued to contribute at healthy levels and didn’t make significant changes to their allocation, were able to take advantage of the positive market conditions that followed” (CNBC). Still, experts caution that portfolios this stock-heavy could suffer sharper losses than traditional 60-40 mixes when the next downturn hits.