Women have better retirement savings habits but lower 401(k) balances than men, Vanguard finds

Valentinrussanov | E+ | Getty Images Women tend to save more of their paycheck for retirement than men, but still trail them in 401(k) account values, new research shows. The average 401(k) balance among men in 2025 was $194,597, compared with $146,476 for women, according to Vanguard's new 2026 How America Saves report, which looks at data from nearly 5 million retirement savers across more than 1,300 workplace plans. Yet women display better savings habits overall, the report shows. More from Women and Wealth: "At comparable income levels, women are more likely to participate in plans and often save at slightly higher rates," said Jeff Clark, head of defined contribution research for Vanguard and author of the report, in an email. "They also tend to invest more consistently, using professionally managed options and trading less frequently — behaviors linked to stronger long-term outcomes," Clark said. Lower pay, caregiving can hamper savings Separate research has shown that women's investment portfolios tend to outperform those of men. For example, on average, their investments beat men's by 40 basis points , or 0.4%, according to Fidelity Investments ' analysis of annual performance across 5.2 million accounts from January 2011 to December 2020 — and the trend continues . More recently, 2025 Wells Fargo research shows women achieve similar or better returns while taking less risk with their investments, compared with men. …