2/17/14 – 401(k) balances rise with record gains on Wall Street (Washington Post)

Wall Street’s historic gains in 2013 have boosted the value of Americans’ retirement accounts to record highs, according to several plan managers, restoring a critical component of household wealth.

Fidelity Investments, the nation’s largest provider of retirement plans, said the average balance in its accounts at the end of last year was $89,300 — nearly double the amount during the depths of the recession. Vanguard, another major fund manager, said its plans clocked in at $101,650, the highest level since it began tracking the data in 1999.

Read the full article at the Washington Post.