Released: October 08, 2009

Forecast sunny if you weather 401(k) storm

Source: Michelle Singletary, Washington Post (Free Registration)

If you are wondering whether it’s still worth the worry to invest in a 401(k) or similar workplace retirement plan, stop your hand-wringing. It is.

Or at least it’s worth it for the people who invest consistently, according to new research by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI).

Yes, it’s been painfully apparent that 2008 was a crushing year for those of us who invest. The average value of consistent contributors’ 401(k) retirement accounts fell 24.3 percent, according to the two groups. But retirement plan data studied by the groups found that over a five-year period—from 2003 to 2008—401(k) participants saw their account balances increase at an average annual rate of 7.2 percent.

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