retirement account balances fell during the third quarter a sign of how market turmoil has taken a toll on americans’ nest eggs according to new data from fidelity investments but there’s good news too savings rates remain strong underscoring many investors’ resiliency “retirement savers have wisely chosen to avoid the drama and continue making smart choices for the longterm” kevin barry president of workplace investing at fidelity investments said in a statement “this is important because one of the most essential aspects of a sound retirement savings strategy is contributing enough consistently—in up markets down markets and sideways markets—to help reach your goals” investors have certainly faced headwinds this year particularly inflation in trying to reach their retirement goals the sp 500 is down approximately 17 so far this year tech stocks previously among the past decade’s biggest winners have fared poorly with the nasdaq tumbling nearly 30 in 2022 unsurprisingly retirement assets have also fallen data from fidelity the nation’s largest provider of individual retirement accounts show the average ira balance was 101900 for the third quarter a 249 decrease from the previous year the average 401k balance was 97200 this quarter down 229 yet despite the year’s bad news investors continued to contribute to their accounts and even opened news ones fidelity said the total 401k savings rate—representing employer and employee contributions—was 138 virtually unchanged from the prior quarter fidelity’s suggested savings rate is 15 the vast majority of workers 86 kept their contribution rates unchanged among different age groups preretiree baby boomers had the highest contribution rate 165 gen z investors stepped up their savings slightly to 103 from 10 more investors particularly younger ones are opening iras fidelity said its number of iras increased 112 year over year to 132 million the majority of ira contributions 61 went into roth accounts according to fidelity investors can contribute aftertax dollars to roth accounts and withdraw the funds tax free in retirement the irs recently announced higher contribution limits in 2023 for 401k accounts and iras to account for inflation