The U.S. stock market rout that has put U.S. equities in a bear market isn???t just reducing the net worth of billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. It???s also taking a toll on Americans??? retirement savings, wiping out trillions of dollars in value.
The selloff has erased nearly $3 trillion from U.S. retirement accounts, according to Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. By her calculations, 401(k) plan participants have lost about $1.4 trillion from their accounts since the end of 2021. People with IRAs ??? most of which are 401(k) rollovers ??? have lost $2 trillion this year.
This year???s stock slump is the most severe market downturn since March of 2020, when COVID-19 erupted in the U.S. Historically, 401(k) investments take about two years after a market decline of this size to regain their previous value.
???Anybody who has to retire when the market is down is in a bad position,??? Munnell said.
???Younger people, you can kind of wait it out ??? these things have come back time and time again,??? she added. ???But people who use their retirement money to support themselves really suffer in this kind of event.???
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