T. Rowe Price uncovers stunning boost for your 401(k) | Louis Velazquez - Official Website, Entrepreneur, Finance, Technology

Most 401(k) participants log in, check their balance, and close the tab. They never click the planning links sitting right next to that number.

T. Rowe Price’s newest research suggests that habit could be costly. The firm’s 2026 Reference Point report covered more than two million participants across 712 plans.

The report found that workers who use free advice or planning tools save at a rate 29% higher than non-users. Those same users hold twice the average account balance.

Yet only 13.8% of participants ever touch those resources. That leaves roughly six out of seven workers with free help they have never accessed.

T. Rowe Price’s 2026 data uncovers a stark 401(k) divide

T. Rowe Price manages $1.80 trillion in client assets, and the firm released its annual Reference Point report on Feb. 11, 2026.

The data cover plans on its full-service recordkeeping platform. Tool users saved at a rate 29% higher than non-users, according to the report, though T. Rowe Price did not disclose the underlying percentages for each group.

More Retirement:

“This year’s data shines a light on how personalized guidance and advice are pivotal for retirement readiness,” said Francisco Negrón, head of Retirement Plan Services at T. Rowe Price.

“As the economic environment continues to challenge retirement savers, equipping them with financial tools and support is more important than ever,” Negrón added.

The selection bias problem behind the 401(k) data

The 29% savings gap and doubled balances reflect a correlation within T. Rowe Price’s own data. The report does not claim the tools caused those outcomes, though its framing implies it.

People who seek out planning tools tend to be more financially engaged and predisposed to save, and researchers call this selection bias.

T. Rowe Price’s release does not control income, age, or plan tenure, and the “twice the average balance” also relies on averages rather than medians, which high-balance outliers can skew upward.

Use of 401(k) planning tools may correlate with higher savings, but selection bias makes it difficult to prove that the tools actually lead to better retirement outcomes.

Daniel de la Hoz / Getty Images

Vanguard and Morningstar research backs the case for 401(k) guidance

Independent research fills part of the gap that T. Rowe Price’s data leaves open, and Vanguard has published its Advisor’s Alpha research since 2001 and updated it in 2025.

Quality financial advice can add about 3% in net value annually through behavioral coaching, tax-efficient strategies, and smarter withdrawal sequencing, according to Vanguard’s Advisor’s Alpha framework.

Behavioral coaching is the largest component, worth up to 150 basis points per year.

Lauren Valente, Vanguard’s managing director of Workplace Solutions, said decades of evidence prove automatic plan features significantly boost retirement savings participation.

More than 25 years of data and insights make it clear [that] strong default contribution options and automatic features have made saving for retirement more accessible and effective for more Americans than ever before.

Stopping investors from panic-selling during downturns adds more value than any portfolio technique, Vanguard noted. Morningstar researchers David Blanchett and Paul Kaplan reached a similar conclusion in their 2013 “Gamma” study.

Smarter withdrawal strategies, tax-efficient allocation, and annuity decisions can boost certainty-equivalent retirement income by 22.6%, which the authors estimated has the same impact as a 1.59% annual return increase.

Both firms sell advisory services, giving each a commercial interest; their methods also measure full-service relationships, not self-service 401(k) tools.

How much of the free 401(k) help most workers leave on the table

Most major recordkeepers offer participants planning resources at no additional cost. These include retirement readiness calculators, savings rate optimizers, and Roth comparison features.

Many plans also include phone-based guidance with a licensed professional, covered through plan fees rather than charged to the individual, but these tools go largely unused.

Only 13.8% of participants currently engage with the advice, education, or tools available through their workplace retirement site, T. Rowe Price’s 2026 benchmarking report found, even though users save 29% more and have twice the average account balance.

Cerulli Associates found that 71% of pre-retirees had not sought advice or planning help from their 401(k) provider in the past year, and 45% had not used available financial wellness tools.

The firm recommended that recordkeepers improve awareness of existing tools and collaborate with advisors to present a streamlined advice offering.

What the data mean for your retirement savings rate

Vanguard’s 2026 How America Saves report recommends a total savings rate of 12% to 15%, including employer contributions.

The average total rate hit a record 12.1%, but many workers remain below that target, the firm reported. Most plan portals include a retirement readiness projection that estimates in a few minutes where a participant stands against Vanguard’s 12% to 15% target.

T. Rowe Price’s data shows 99% of auto-enrolled participants either maintain their employer-selected default rate or increase it, a sign that plan design is doing much of the heavy lifting, but also that only a minority actively push their rate higher.

The evidence does not guarantee that opening a calculator will double your balance, and it does suggest that the 13.8% who engage beyond enrollment tend to land in stronger positions.

T. Rowe Price’s 2026 data shows a strong link between using free workplace tools and better 401(k) outcomes.