401(k) Loan Outstanding Rate
13% at the end of 2025, the same as a year earlier
Where the 401(k) Loan Outstanding Rate stands now
The 401(k) Loan Outstanding Rate was 13% in 2025, the highest in data back to 2018.
What it means for households: 401(k) Hardship Withdrawal Statistics Behind on Your Mortgage?
How the 401(k) Loan Outstanding Rate has moved since 2018
401(k) Loan Outstanding Rate: little changed over the past year
Vanguard How America Saves, share of participants with a plan loan outstanding on December 31: 13% in 2025, the same as a year earlier. Annual, 2018–2025.
What the 401(k) Loan Outstanding Rate measures
Measurement basis: Share of participants in Vanguard-recordkept defined contribution plans with a loan outstanding against their account at year end, from Vanguard's How America Saves. It covers the plans Vanguard administers, not all U.S. 401(k) participants.
A higher rate is worse for households.
401(k) Loan Outstanding Rate by year, 2018 to 2025
| Year | Rate (%) | Change from a year earlier (percentage points) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 13 | 0 |
| 2024 | 13 | 0 |
| 2023 | 13 | +1 |
| 2022 | 12 | −1 |
| 2021 | 13 | 0 |
| 2020 | 13 | 0 |
| 2019 | 13 | 0 |
| 2018 | 13 | — |
Annual · Vanguard How America Saves 2026
Counties with the highest safety net and buffer scores
There's no county figure for this measure, so this list uses the safety net and buffer part of our County Distress Index.
| Rank | County | Score (0–100) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Choctaw County, OK | 94.8 |
| 2 | Stewart County, GA | 94.2 |
| 3 | Noxubee County, MS | 94.2 |
| 4 | Hudspeth County, TX | 94 |
| 5 | Brooks County, TX | 94 |
| 6 | Lake County, TN | 94 |
| 7 | Duval County, TX | 93.9 |
| 8 | Ripley County, MO | 93.5 |
| 9 | Dunklin County, MO | 93.3 |
| 10 | Quitman County, GA | 93.2 |
Questions about 401(k) loans
What share of 401(k) participants have a loan outstanding?
In plans that Vanguard administers and that offer loans, 13% of participants owed money on a plan loan at the end of 2025. That is Vanguard's client base, close to 5 million participants, not every 401(k) saver in the country.
Is 401(k) loan use going up?
Vanguard publishes one year-end figure a year, rounded to a whole percent. At the end of 2025 it was 13%. That is the same as at the end of 2024. Because the numbers are rounded and the plans Vanguard administers change each year, a one-point move is within the rounding.
What happens to a 401(k) loan if you lose your job?
After you leave the employer, plan terms may cause an unpaid balance to be offset against the account. Under IRS plan-loan-offset guidance, a qualified plan loan offset can be rolled over until the tax return due date for that year, including extensions. An amount not rolled over is generally taxable, and an additional 10% tax may apply unless an exception applies.
Where does the data come from?
Vanguard's How America Saves, an annual report built from Vanguard's own recordkeeping data for the retirement plans it administers. Each edition reports December 31 of the year before: the 2026 edition covers year-end 2025. Recent editions have come out in June; Vanguard publishes no release calendar.
Sources and method for the 401(k) Loan Outstanding Rate
- Vanguard How America Saves 2026 Measurement basis: Share of participants in Vanguard-recordkept defined contribution plans with a loan outstanding against their account at year end, from Vanguard's How America Saves. It covers the plans Vanguard administers, not all U.S. 401(k) participants. We use the annual figures as published, from 2018 through 2025, with no adjustment of our own. Vanguard’s report (1) Vanguard’s report (2) Vanguard’s report (3)
We write with assistance from AI tools. Figures come from the data and sources named on this page.