“Forgotten” 401(k)s Grow to Record $2.1 Trillion of Assets, According to New Analysis by Capitalize

Forgotten 401(k) assets have increased by almost 30% over two years, driven by ongoing job switching and higher balances

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Capitalize, the award-winning platform to transfer retirement accounts, today released an update to its widely-cited 2023 white paper, The True Cost of Forgotten 401(k) Accounts, in partnership with the Center for Retirement Research (CRR). The analysis highlights continued growth in the number of “forgotten” accounts which represent 401(k) savings that have been left behind by people who have changed jobs or terminated employment. According to the company’s research, the number of forgotten or left-behind 401(k) accounts in the U.S. has almost doubled in the last decade to an estimated 31.9 million accounts as of July 2025. These accounts now contain $2.13 trillion in assets, an increase of almost 30% since mid-2023. The company’s analysis also suggests that forgotten 401(k) accounts could cost an individual over $500,000 in foregone retirement savings over 30 years in a worst-case scenario.

Over the past several months, Capitalize has analyzed a range of new data sources and consulted with industry experts to update its 2023 findings. This updated analysis reveals that 3.5 million 401(k) accounts were left behind in 2023, 4.0 million in 2024, and another 4.2 million expected to be left behind in 2025. Despite fewer Americans changing jobs in the prior two years than the “Great Resignation” period, higher 401(k) participation rates and ongoing challenges with the highly manual 401(k) rollover process have driven continued growth in left-behind 401(k) assets. The average account balance of a forgotten 401(k) has now increased to $66,691 from $56,616 and the assets left behind by job changers continue to represent almost 25% of total 401(k) savings. In aggregate, Capitalize found that these forgotten 401(k) accounts could be costing retirement savers billions in foregone savings.

Capitalize’s analysis also highlights the growing number of left-behind retirement accounts in the Federal Government, driven by layoffs, with almost 3 million Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) accounts now expected to be left behind by the end of 2025.

“The ‘forgotten 401(k)’ problem continues to grow in size and complexity, with Americans leaving behind millions of accounts each year as they switch jobs. An outdated rollover process and confusion at the point of job change remain obstacles for most savers,” said Gaurav Sharma, CEO at Capitalize. “At Capitalize, we continue to work with financial institutions and policymakers to build solutions that help Americans better manage their retirement savings. As new alternative investments look to enter 401(k) plans, the stakes for solving the forgotten 401(k) problem have never been higher.”

For full details of the analysis and findings on forgotten 401(k) accounts, visit https://hicapitalize.com/resources/the-true-cost-of-forgotten-401ks/.

About Capitalize
Capitalize is an award-winning platform to help consumers and financial institutions digitally locate and transfer retirement assets, such as 401(k)s. Capitalize’s technology is used by leading financial institutions to power rollovers natively for their users and is also available to consumers directly. Capitalize helps Americans better save for retirement by ensuring that they can easily find, transfer, and keep track of their retirement assets. Capitalize has been recognized as one of TIME’s 100 Best Inventions, one of the world’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company, and a Forbes Top 50 Fintech. For more information about Capitalize, visit www.hicapitalize.com.