Retirement saving increases
NEW YORK — Contributions to personal retirement accounts have surged since the Great Recession hit in 2007, according to a study by Fidelity Investments released Tuesday.
Boston- based Fidelity, one of the country’s largest managers of retirement funds, looked at contributions made to the company’s individual retirement accounts from 2007 through 2011 and found double- digit percentage increases for all age groups.
People in their 20s saved less than any other age group, but they still put an average of $3,210 in IRAs last year, an increase of 12.9 percent from 2007. Those in their 40s put an average of $3,610 in an IRA last year, up 14.1 percent from 2007.
Those closest to retirement put away the most. The average contribution for people in their 60s was $4,690 last year, more than any other age group and a 13.4 percent increase from 2007.
One likely factor behind the rise is that people are allowed to put more money in IRAs. In 2007, the maximum IRA contribution was $4,000, according to the Internal Revenue Service. In 2011 and 2012, the maximum annual contribution is $5,000 for a person under age 50. People 50 and older can deposit as much as $6,000.
Americans also began spending less and saving more after their finances were battered by a recession and subsequent financial crisis in 2008. Economists date the most recent recession from December 2007 to June 2009.