Rubbish Check
Fox Business · September 13, 2026
source“Americans’ average 401(k) balance reaches record high, Fidelity data shows”
R4/ 10
Selective
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates Fox Business's claim that "Americans' average 401(k) balance reaches record high" a 4/10 because the $155,800 figure is a true average, but the outlet omits Fidelity's own median balance (roughly $34,400 to $44,000) and skips the same Fidelity report's rising loan and hardship-withdrawal rates that other outlets covered from the identical release.
The Verdict
Selective. The headline number is real and correctly sourced to Fidelity, but the story cherry-picks the flattering "average" framing while leaving out the median (the figure that reflects the typical saver) and the strain indicators Fidelity published in the same report.
What actually happened
Fidelity's Q2 2026 Building Financial Futures report showed average 401(k) balances hit a record. The Fox Business piece accurately relays the headline figure and quotes a Ramsey Show co-host on why balances rose, but does not touch the report's other findings on loans and hardship withdrawals.
Key facts
- The average 401(k) balance climbed to a record $155,800 in the second quarter of 2026, up 10.5% from the previous quarter and 13.1% from a year earlier, according to Fidelity Investments' Q2 2026 Building Financial Futures report.
- "After a slight drop in the first quarter of 2026, the average 401(k) and 403(b) account balances rebounded to record levels in Q2 2026," the report noted, the "record" is a rebound off a dip, not uninterrupted growth.
- Fidelity's median, last reported at $34,400 for year-end 2025, hasn't been made public since, and comparable data shows the median lands at $44,115 elsewhere, far below the headline average.
- The same Fidelity release that Fox Business covered also showed nearly one in five workers, 19.5%, had an outstanding 401(k) loan in 2026, up from a year earlier, and the share taking a hardship withdrawal climbed to 3% from 2.6% 12 months before, details other outlets reported from the identical Fidelity data set but Fox Business's piece does not mention.
- Combined employer and employee 401(k) contributions averaged 14.4%, a rate that narrowly trails the 15% annual target Fidelity recommends savers aim for.
What to watch for
Watch whether next quarter's coverage keeps leading with the average while the median gap (mean pulled up by a small share of very large accounts) stays buried. Also watch the loan and hardship-withdrawal trend line; if it keeps climbing alongside "record" balances, that's the real story about financial strain the headline framing currently obscures.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
