Average 401(k) account balances ended 2009 at $64,200, up another 5.7 percent from the end of the third quarter and up 28 percent for the year, according to Fidelity Investments. The median one-year personal rate of return, or PRR, in 2009 was nearly 27 percent. PRR is a measure of investment performance during a given period of time.
"The good news is that many workers, in spite of the economy, chose to save in their 401(k)s throughout 2009, and as the markets recovered, so did many Americans' account balances," said Jim MacDonald, president of Workplace Investing at Fidelity Investments.
