At a glance
- Bank of America's Participant Pulse research put the average 401(k) balance at $113,590, up 13% in 2025.
- A balance gap between design categories is not on its own evidence that the features caused it.
- Vestwell's survey found 85% of employees expect their employer to offer retirement benefits and 62% say they should defer 10% or more of their salary.
Plans offering auto-enrollment or auto-escalation averaged $170,000, $50,000 above plans with neither feature, according to Bank of America's Participant Pulse research.
Bank of America's Participant Pulse research put the average 401(k) balance at $113,590, up 13% in 2025. That places the neither-feature group at about $120,000, and both design cohorts sit above the overall average.
A balance gap between design categories is not on its own evidence that the features caused it. Plans that adopt auto-enrollment or auto-escalation may differ from those that do not in employer size, workforce pay or tenure, and the reported figures do not separate those effects.
Vestwell's survey found 85% of employees expect their employer to offer retirement benefits and 62% say they should defer 10% or more of their salary.
Vestwell's own recordkept 401(k) and 403(b) account holders averaged a 6.4% deferral in 2023. The two figures measure different populations, so the gap is between stated expectations and plan settings rather than a change in one group.
Reported by The Wrap desk from Vestwell survey and recordkept plan data, Bank of America Participant Pulse and WTW worker financial wellbeing study. Published . Corrections